


It Doesn't Get More Average Than Peter Quill

by OnceIComeUpWithAUsernameItllGoHereLmao (Booplesnootbunny)



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Peter Quill, F/F, M/M, Marvel Universe, Minor Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson, Multi, Popularity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-06-25 09:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 30,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19742518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Booplesnootbunny/pseuds/OnceIComeUpWithAUsernameItllGoHereLmao
Summary: Another unwanted Highschool AU x"DPeter Quill always went by unnoticed. He wasn't special. He wasn't one of the "cool seniors." He was....Normal.And that normality killed him. No one would ever see him as an amazing person who was their one and only. Why would they?At least, that's what he thought before he's suddenly dragged into popularity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many ideas for fanfics so I'm kinda just spitting them out now dndnxnnxxn
> 
> I'll probably add more tags as this goes one djdjnx

Peter Quill was a pretty normal dude, definitely, average, even. In fact, he felt as though he were painfully average. Yeah, he was moderately strange, but everyone had that little weird thing about them. Whenever he looked around at everyone else in his high school, he could pinpoint something outstanding about them. 

Bruce Banner? He was super extremely smart. No one matched his intelligence. 

Tony Stark? Aside from the fact that he was almost as smart as Banner, he was so innovative and always had the best ideas for anything, no matter what. 

Natasha Romanov? She was suuuuper hot, but was known for kicking ass. She was so strong and cool. 

Steve Rogers? God, that guy could get along with _anyone_. He was pretty smart, and the nicest being in the universe, Quill bet. Not to mention that he was built for athleticism. That guy was ripped but so modest. 

Sam Wilson? Dude, that guy was so cool, he always had the best stories, and not to mention he was one of the school's top athletes with Steve. 

James "Bucky" Barnes? He- well, actually, Quill couldn't quite place anything on him, but he sure as hell looked cool despite his broody-ness, so he sure had that going on for him. 

Quill could go on listing every single person in his school, but it only hurt his head and his ego more and more. The only ones who understood his painful averageness were his friends Scott, Wanda, and his two freshman sidekicks/partners in crime Peter and Ned. The latter was a package deal, but Quill didn't mind. They looked up to him, which he found adorable, and it made him feel better about his average self. 

As of right now, he sat in Earth and Space Science, trying to balance a pencil on his nose as he waited for the lunch bell to ring. As soon as it did, he stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and booked it out of the classroom before the halls became too full. He made his way down the stairs, and waited at the first classroom a little ways beside the stairwell, ignoring the students that exited the classroom until out came Wanda and her twin brother Pietro, who gave him a nod of acknowledgement, to which Quill gave a small wave back. Pietro wasn't so bad of a guy, but he and Quill just didn't seem to.... vibe into a friendship like he and Wanda had. They more acquaintances if anything. 

"Quill! How was class?" Wanda asked as Quill fell into pace with her and her brother as they made their way to the cafeteria. 

"Eh, it was fine," Quill said with a shrug. "We were talking about life forms that could possibly be out there on other planets, so that was super cool." 'Of course no one listened to me when I tried to add to the discussion, but, like, what's new, right?' He kept the last part to himself; she probably didn't want to hear him complain, so why add it in, right? "But then everyone got bored and hungry, even the teacher - it sucks that we got stuck with the last lunch period - so we had the last few minutes to ourselves. Too bad for me, though, 'cause I broke my phone on accident, and Yondu said he wasn't gonna buy me a new one. Said this time the money is gonna come outta my pocket, so I guess all my work money is gonna be saved up on that." Oops, he was complaining. "I swear, you break seven phones, and suddenly you're being called destructive," he added jokingly to hide the complaining. He scored a laugh from Wanda, and even a chuckle from Pietro. "How 'bout you? How was class?"

"Boring," Wanda replied. "I can't exactly say I care too much for advanced calculus."

"Eugh, math. Gross," Quill said, scrunching up his nose. 

"It's not so bad," Pietro piped in, rolling his eyes at his sister. 

"It's not hard, just boring." She looked and Quill and said, "Our teacher has the most monotonous voice in the world, it's absolutely horrid." The trio turned into the cafeteria that was already bustling with a few students, and even more were flooding in with them. They went to their usual table, where Quill dropped his backpack onto the floor beside his seat and said, "I'll be right back," as he, Wanda, and Pietro went off in different directions to the different lunch lines. Quill was feeling pizza today, so he went to the pizza line, his stomach growling with anticipation for food. He always heard people making a big fuss about school lunches, hearing them say that it was disgusting and inedible, but Quill thought otherwise, and his stomach definitely agreed. 

Normally, he'd be on his phone, scrolling through Instagram or looking at what's trending on Twitter, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. It was moments like these that he wished he had at least his portable cassette player. That thing was way more reliable than his phone, or any phone that he'd had in general. Phones easily broke. His handy cassette player had withstood tons of falls and had barely gotten a scratch, unlike his stupid phone(s). Call him old school, but he loved the damn thing. Too bad no one else agreed with him, and he had ended up getting peer pressured into leaving it behind at home, something that he very much regretted right about now. 

Now he was stuck eavesdropping on other people's conversations as a source of entertainment. Behind him, a group that consisted three girls were talking about an upcoming football game. He recognized the voices as Peggy Carter, Darcy Lewis, and Jane Foster. 

"Dude, I am sooo going," Darcy was saying. "Have you SEEN how hot those football players are?"

"Darcy, I don't think you're quite getting the point of a football game," Peggy replied. "It's about showing everyone the strength the school has, it's about scaring off any other school who dares doubt us-"

"Whoaaa," Jane laughed. Quill moved up in the line as it moved forward and the girls behind him moved along. "I don't think either of you are getting it. It's about school spirit!"

"School spirit?" Darcy echoed. "No, I think the majority of the people who go actually go to look at the players."

Bored with the conversation, Quill listened in on the group in front of him. It was Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Clint Barton, and Carol Danvers. Ugh. They were those seniors that everyone admired and loved and listen to. Like Troy and Chad from High School Musical, except worse. Well, maybe not Pepper and Banner. But Tony, Clint, and Carol really got on Quill's nerves sometimes. They were talking about science fairs that middle schools in their area held. 

"I seriously don't think they judge those kids fairly," Clint said. "It's way too much pressure, like, calm down, the kid is 12." 

"Oh, come on. At 12, I was building robots to clean my room for me," Tony scoffed. "Don't give me that bullcrap that kids can't do things 'cause they're kids. If they actually tried, I bet they could."

"Tony, I think you're forgetting that not everyone is at the same level of smart as you," Pepper put in gently but somehow firmly at the same time. 

"Yeah, just 'cause you're oh so smart doesn't mean you can talk shit about us dumber people," Carol said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, and Tony scowled at her. 

"I am doing no such thing!" he defended himself. 

The two began to bicker, and Pepper was trying to calm them down, but Clint kept throwing in retorts at Tony as well. Meanwhile, Banner tried to help Pepper, but his gentle voice went unheard. It wasn't until Quill's stomach growled again that he realized they had stopped walking and were holding up the line. 

"Hey, can you guys move up?" They didn't hear him. "Hello?? Move up please??" They still continued arguing. " _Dude, I'm gonna die of hunger over here, move up!_ " He raised his voice and they finally stopped, hearing him, and looked at him, confused. Quill even heard the girls behind him stop talking, and he could feel their stares piercing into his back. 

"I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" Tony asked as though Quill had said something to offend him. 

"I'm the guy standing behind you in the damn lunch line who's gonna miss the whole lunch period 'cause you can't get that stick outta your ass long enough to move up," Quill shot back immediately. Clint let out a loud "H A" and Carol smirked. Pepper sighed and before Tony could, she replied. 

"I'm sorry, we didn't notice." She grabbed Tony by his shoulders and turned him around, leading the group down the line. Tony was grumbling something angrily to her as they grabbed their trays with pizza on them, but at this point, Quill couldn't care less. He was hungry, man. 

"Good one, man," Clint said. It took Quill a second to realize he was talking to him. 

"Oh, uh, thanks? But I wasn't tryna be rude or whatever. I'm just really hungry," Quill said with a shrug, moving along the line as Tony, Pepper, and Banner all payed for their food and left the line, one after the other. 

Carol laughed. "You got guts talking to Tony like that. He's pretty hardheaded, we both are," she said. "Sorry we held you away from your lunch." She offered a smile, to which Quill couldn't help but smile back; her smile seemed contagious, it was weird. 

"I don't think I've ever seen you around, are you new here?" Clint asked, grabbing a tray with a circular pepperoni pizza after a quick examination of each. 

"Uh, no," Quill replied, grabbing a tray with a pizza that had pepperoni and mushrooms and a cheese studded crust. "I've attended this school for three years. This is my fourth year here. I'm a senior."

"Really?" Carol asked, brows furrowed. She moved along the line and as she payed for her food, she said, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we would've seen you around," Clint added, grabbing a packet of baby carrots. 

"Dude. I was literally in the same class as you from kindergarten to third grade. And we were in the same homeroom class in sixth and eighth grade. And we had algebra together freshmen year. And gym sophomore year," Quill said. It hurt, you know, knowing these people practically all his life, but they had no idea he even existed. 

"Ohhhh, wait a second!" Carol said; she was standing out of the line, waiting for Clint. "Aren't you that guy that cried during Finding Nemo in biology that one time freshman year?" 

"Err, yeah, that was me." Wow, he appreciated that that was the one thing she remembered about him. Clint payed for his food, and after filling up his tray, Quill went to pay for his own food. He was told the price and he pulled out his wallet, but when he opened it, a fly may as well had flown out because that thing was empty. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He looked at the lunch lady hopefully. "Can you put that on my fines list?" he asked. 

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't do that for you anymore, Peter, you know that. You never pay your fines until the next school year, and this is your last year. The school doesn't want you leaving without paying anything."

"Aw, c'mon, please!" Quill begged. "You can't let a student starve! I'll pay it tomorrow, I promise! I just- I'm not doin' so great financially-"

"How much is it?" Quill was startled to be interrupted by none other than Tony Stark. He hadn't noticed that while he'd been trying to haggle his way with the lunch lady, Carol and Clint had called Tony over and told them what was going on. "You know what, doesn't matter. I'm paying for it." Quill's eyes went wild and round as Tony handed the lunch lady two 100 dollar bills, which apparently he just carried around with no fear of getting jumped and/or robbed. 

"Whoa, dude, I don't- lunch isn't that expensive," he said. 

"It's for tomorrow's lunch. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. So you don't starve." The last part came out in an amused tone, and Quill was in awe; what the hell was happening?!

"Oh," was all he managed to say in a small voice. "Thanks." Tray gripped in his hands, he dared a glance at Tony, Clint and Carol once more - Carol had what looked like a satisfied, knowing smirk, and she nodded at Quill as he passed; Clint gave him a little thumbs up and a smile; and Tony gave him what was almost a small smile - and Quill could feel the stares of the people who were behind him in line on his back as he scurried away to his table. 

He found Wanda and Pietro already back from their lines, eating a salad and fish sticks respectively, and Peter and Ned had arrived as well, Peter eating a lunch that his Aunt May probably packed for him, and Ned was eating a burger. 

"What was that all about?" Wanda immediately asked, using her free hand to gesture towards the pizza line that was moving at a good pace once more. 

"Honestly? I have no idea," Quill replied, glancing over his shoulder at the line once more before he sat down. He picked up his pizza and said, "But I think I impressed Tony Stark," then took a bite.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly having a blast writing this rn haha  
> I'm kind of struggling on one of my other fics bc someone keeps posting very judgy knowitall comments so I'm taking a quick break from it and this is a nice little pass time dnnxnxnxn  
> Also theres a ton of embarrassing typos in chapter 1 xDDDD I'm gonna try and reread through these chapters properly before I post them now I'm so sorry-  
> Anyway enough about my problems lmao I hope you guys enjoy this chapter

They spent the rest of lunch eating and talking: Peter and Ned were telling Pietro about their recent Lego set that they were clearly excited about, and Pietro occassionally went "Ohh," "Wow," "Mhm," and asked a question about their other Lego sets every now and again; Wanda and Quill talked about how un-Tony Stark Tony had been, and eventually about Quill's work. 

"It's not bad working there, I just feel like I don't get paid enough," Quill sighed as he shoved the last of his fries into his mouth. "But I guess ya win some, ya lose some, right?" he added with a shrug. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a better job in no time," Wanda said reassuringly. "If only we had been born into rich families, no?" She gave a bitter smile as her gaze flashed towards The Popular Seniors (TM). Quill nodded and looked over his shoulder, but was startled when he accidentally made eye contact with Clint, who gave him a smile and a wave, which made Quill immediately look away. 

"Or at least had rich friends," he said, choosing to not acknowledge the action. Wanda went along with it, and nodded. "Rich friends who will pay for whatever we want. Imagine living that life."

"I don't think our little group is so bad," Peter pipes in brightly. "I mean, sure we're not loaded with cash, but I think it's cool that we know the struggle for some things. Gives us life experience, dontcha think?"

"Eh, I guess," Quill agreed. "But-"

He was cut off as one of the APs announced the end of lunch, his voice ringing loudly through the speakers connected to the microphone he held. 

"Welp, time to go to our last class," Quill said to Wanda and Pietro as the group got up.

"You guys are so lucky you got a free 7th period," Ned groaned. "Peter and I still got two classes."

"Three more years and you can do the same," Quill replied with a grin. They made their way around the people in the cafeteria who were also trying to get out into the hallways where they turned right and continued on their way. 

"I know, but that seems like so long," Ned sighed. "Plus it won't be the same 'cause you guys won't be there anymore."

"Yeah, I don't know who would wanna be friends with us, especially not anyone as cool as you three," Peter said sadly. "Next year, you guys are off to college and we'll be alone."

"That isn't true!" Wanda said. "You two are adorable and so sweet! You'll be able to make friends for sure."

"It's true," Pietro said. "The only reason you don't have friends this year other than us is probably because you're with us." He looked around at the students around them and added, "I think it's pretty obvious, but no one likes us very much."

"That's just because these people suck!" Ned said indignantly. "They can't tell how awesome you guys are!"

"Alright, alright, enough stroking our egos, go to class you two," Quill laughed, nudging them towards their class. 

"Bye!" Ned and Peter waved and scurried into their classroom, and Quill and the Maximoffs made their way to their last class, which they shared. Their last period of the day was art, which was a pretty chill class. The only reason they took it was because they had all forgotten that they needed at least one art credit to graduate and out of pure luck, they had ended up in the same class. They slipped into a classroom, greeted the teacher, then went to the back of the class, going through the door there, which revealed a small secret hallway that not many students knew about. Being seniors as well as staying after school to find easier ways around to their classes, they had found these kinds of halls that were nice and quiet. As they walked, Wanda and Pietro talked about what they would have for dinner, meanwhile Quill lagged a bit behind them, thinking about Pietro's words from earlier. 

He was right, no one really liked them, and yeah, it was kinda obvious. The looks they received weren't exactly given to just anyone. He knew why people didn't like Wanda and Pietro, but why did they not like him? He knew it wasn't because he hung out with them, no, people didn't like way before that. Maybe it wasn't that they didn't like him before, maybe it was just because he was always invisible, he blended into the crowd too easily, too well. Maybe he had just finally been noticed because he did hang out with them. But what did it matter? They were the only ones who ever acknowledged he existed before Peter and Ned came into the picture. 

Pushing the thoughts away, he followed the Maximoffs into the classroom. Not many students were inside yet, they were probably outside instead, talking to their friends, on their phones, anything else, really, before the bell rang, but he knew that in a few minutes, the class would be filled with the loudness of the bold, excited art students who actually wanted to be there and pursue some sort of art career. Meanwhile, the three took their unassigned, but claimed seats at a table in the corner near the secret hall door that they had shut behind them. Of course, it was always just them at the table, but they didn't mind because that meant more space for their materials and work for them. 

The bell rang, and just as Quill knew, the class was full seconds before it went off and the quiet classroom was now loud. They were given their assignment - "Draw a collage of the things that represent you, and use three colors to color it in" - and everyone set to work. Quill got up to get them paper from the front of the classroom, making his way around everyone else. He reached the paper and counted out three of them, then turned around to take them back to his friends. However, he hadn't noticed that someone had been standing right behind him, and he crashed into them. 

"Ah, shit, sorry, man," he said, then realized, oh, hey, it was Banner. 

"O-oh, it's okay." As usual, his voice was gentle, and Peter shrugged, moved around him and went back to his seat. 

"Yo, since when was Banner in this class?" he asked as he sat down, handing out the papers to Wanda and Pietro, then placing one in front of himself. 

"Bruce Banner? The quiet one?" Pietro asked. Quill nodded in confirmation. "He's been in this class since the beginning of the semester. He's just, well, quiet."

"Huh. Weird. I usually notice everyone in my classes," Quill muttered, tapping his pencil against the table thoughtfully, then shaking his head, shrugging it off and starting the assignment. 

\---

"Alright everyone, don't forget to put everything back where you got it from," the teacher said from the front of the classroom, clapping her hands together. "Put your pieces up here in a pile, make sure your name is on it, and put a paper in between the person before yours so no one's gets smudged. We'll continue working on these tomorrow."

Pietro gathered their papers up and took them to the front. While he was off there, Wanda and Quill gathered up their things to prepare to leave. 

"Do you want to come with Pietro and I to our house? We were going to have a movie night tonight, and bake," Wanda said eagerly. 

"Pietro? Baking?" Quill asked with a grin, then shook his head. "Wish I could, but I got work, and I wanna get homework done before I go. Three to midnight." 

Wanda frowned. "Midnight? That's really late," she commented, grabbing Pietro's backpack from the floor and neatly putting away his pencils in a pocket of it, her own backpack already packed and slung on her shoulders. 

"Yeah, but I'll take whatever hours I can. I'm not about to depend on _Stark_ for money. That's other worldly," he scoffed, and Wanda laughed along. 

"Yes, it really is," she murmured. Quill dropped his own pencil into his always messy backpack, zipped it up, and threw it over his shoulders. Pietro came back, thanking his sister briefly for his backpack and as they waited for the bell to ring, Quill teased Pietro about baking, to which Pietro confidently said, "Baking is a skill that both genders should know how to do. You'll never know what kind of things you can do until you try, and I found out I'm good at baking!" He had a good point, but Quill would never admit it. Luckily, the ringing bell saved him, and Quill went his separate way, telling them he'd see them tomorrow as Wanda and Pietro headed in the opposite direction to the student parking where there car was. Quill's car had broken down - he had just the worst luck - so he had to walk home. Wanda and Pietro had offered him a ride, but he had said no, saying it was good exercise anyway. In truth, he just didn't want to be any kind of bother. 

He exited the doors, wincing at the bright sunlight, but his eyes quickly adjusted, and he started towards his house, only to stop on his track when he heard his name being called. 

"Peter Quill!" 

He turned around and a few feet away from him stood none other than Tony Stark. 

"Yeah?" he called back awkwardly. "What's up?"

Tony walked over to him before continuing. "I hear that you're in a tight spot with money."

"Well, clearly you've been listening to gossip."

"No, I've been told what you said yourself. And I wanna help you."

"Why would you do that?"

"'Cause you and I, Peter? We could've been friends."

"Yeah, I doubt that. If you had wanted to be my friend, you would've chosen me to be your science partner in biology, but you chose the new girl Carol Danvers freshman year. You could've chosen me to be on your kickball team in fifth grade, but neither you nor Steve Rogers decided I was good enough. You've always looked over me. As if I were invisible. So I don't really see why you'd wanna try now. Because no, I don't think we could've been friends. Not then, and definitely not now. Get over yourself, Stark. Not everyone loves you and your posse of stuck up seniors. Some of us have to struggle a little, but you probably know shit about that." A lot of the stress and pain of being ignored all the time finally came out in a small bit of what he'd always wanted to say to Tony, and honestly? It was a little relieving, as if he had just gotten a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "And I go by Quill. You really wouldn't know something like that about a nobody like me, though, right?" With that, he turned around and headed home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FIXED THE CHAPTER PROBLEM THAT I WAS HAVINF SNSNNXNXNX OKAY, NOW PEOPLE CAN KNOW THIS IS AN ONGOING FIC-


	3. Chapter 3

"I just can't stand their little group of stuck up fuck ups," Quill ranted as he angrily scrubbed dishes clean. 

"Hey, I thought we were the fuck ups," Scott said, giving him a lopsided grin as he put clean, dry dishes away. 

"You're right. They're the.... the....."

"The asshats who rule your school?" the girl who walked into the kitchen called out helpfully. 

"I mean, yeah, but it doesn't have that little ring to it like stuck up fuck ups does," Quill said, rinsing off the dish he had been vigorously going at and setting it aside to dry. "Thanks for trying, though, Gamora. You're lucky you go to a different school. I bet you wouldn't take any of their shit, though."

"From the way they sound, bet that I wouldn't," Gamora sniffed, shaking her head. She handed a paper with an order from her notebook that presumably had the order of a customer, and she walked over to Quill and Scott, the dynamic duo of dish washing. Wanda, Pietro, Peter, and Ned may be his closest friends at school, and sometimes outside of school, but here at work, it was Gamora and Scott who Quill got along with most. 

Gamora went to a completely different high school, some private school that her father made her and her sister attend, but she was a senior, too, so her and Quill easily got along despite their occasional clashing personalities. 

Scott was in college, his first year, fresh out of high school, so not much older than the other two, and he had easily gotten on Quill's good side and had stayed there since they had met, when Quill first started working at the restaurant. 

"I'd kick ass even if it got me suspended," Gamora continued, throwing a small punch in the air, and Quill grinned. 

"I'd love to see that," he laughed. 

"Too bad my school doesn't have any openly annoying snobs," she said with a shrug. "They're all pristine little fakes who would never do anything wrong. Not in front of the teachers or their parents, anyway."

"Aren't you technically including yourself into that group?" Scott questioned, squeezing more soap onto Quill's sponge. 

"I would so fight someone in front of my dad. And I bet he'd be proud of me, too. He's the one who tells me to defend myself if it ever comes to it," she replied. 

"Your dad sounds like a terrifying man," Scott said. 

"Gamora! Order for table 4 is ready!" the main chef called to them. "And Scott, if you're just gonna be standing around, help her take orders to the customers!"

"Wha- I'm helping Quill wash dishes!" Scott said with feigned indignation, but he grinning and walked over with Gamora. Quill glanced over his shoulder to look at them as they took the plates of food and made their way out the doors. He sighed and continued his plight in getting the dishes cleaned; he'd gotten pretty good at cleaning the dishes well and pretty quickly over the year and a half he had spent working there, so it didn't take long until he was finished with them. He washed his hands, and wiped them off on a paper towel. 

"Anything I can help with?" Quill called over to the manager as he walked into the kitchen to make sure everything was in order. 

"Yeah, can you wait on table 7, some customers just came in," he replied, giving him a grateful nod and Quill said "Yeah, sure!" 

He grabbed a couple of menus that they had stacked on a counter beside the door and made his way out into the actual dining part of the restaurant and headed towards table 7. It was just his luck when he saw who it was. 

"Damn Tony Stark and his little spies," he hissed under his breath. He forced a smile onto his face and he went to welcome Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov, then handed them their menus. "Take your time deciding," he said rather stiffly, then turned around and headed back into the kitchen, stopping at a table that was asking for their napkin holder to be refilled. He took the napkin holder and took it to the back once more, where he took some and shoved them into the holder - neatly, of course - then back out to return it. They thanked him and Quill retreated to the back, where Gamora and Scott were still taking dishes to take out. 

"Dude, this family is huge," Scott said to Quill as he passed by, but in doing so, the dish he held in his left hand started to slip, and Scott's eyes went wide and round as he tried to regain balance, but was unable to. Luckily, Quill reacted quickly and moved to stabilize the plate for him. The two exchanged a wide eyed look, then looked over at Gamora who shook her head at them in disappointment. 

"You're idiots," she said flatly. "C'mon, Scott. And try not to drop the plate." 

"Oh, hey, wait, Gamora!" Quill said, and she turned to look at him. "You wanna switch? Go take table 7's orders?" He gave her a hopeful look. 

"Sure. Just don't drop anything. Either of you." She gave Scott a warning look and he only smiled sheepishly, then she looked back at Quill, adding, "But you're telling me later why."

"I can tell you right now," Quill said as he took the plates from her. "The two people sitting at that table are part of the asshats." Without waiting for a reply, he led Scott out the door and the two made their way to - wow, yeah, okay, this was a large family. He put on a smile as he and Scott placed the plates down on their table. 

"Anything else?" Scott asked brightly. 

"No, thank you so much," a man replied, nodding his thanks. 

"Alright, let us know if anything comes up," Quill put in, and the pair of waiters took a quick look around the restaurant to make sure everyone else was fine, then made their way to the back. Quill dared a glance over to table 7 and saw Clint setting down his menu and standing up, while Natasha appeared to be giving Gamora her order. Clint caught Quill's eyes, and waved a hand at him, not a greeting hand, but a "come here" hand, and Quill cursed under his breath. He elbowed Scott's side and said, "Dude, wait, hang on," and Scott stopped walking, turning around with Quill as Clint made his way over to them, Quill not bothering to meet him halfway. 

"Peter, hey, Tony told me what ha-"

"It's Quill," Quill and Scott both corrected simultaneously, and the two could help but exchange a grin. 

"Oh. Sorry," Clint apologized, giving a sheepish smile. "Didn't know. Anyway, Tony told me what, uhhh, what you told him. For the record, he's not mad, he's honestly just really surprised, and-"

"So he took the time to gossip to you like a middle schooler, but he couldn't bother to properly tell you my name?" Quill scoffed. "I think we're done here. I don't wanna cause any trouble while I'm working." 

"Quill, that's not what I'm here to do," Clint protested, grabbing Quill's wrist as he turned to walk away, causing Quill to freeze. 

"Hey, man, let's not get physical here," Scott said, taking a small step forward, his voice quiet and his eyes giving Clint a warning look. 

"I'm not- ergh, sorry." Clint let go of Quill, and Quill made a show of wiping his wrist on his apron. "I just came to tell you that I know how Tony can be. I get it. You don't wanna be friends with him. But what about the rest of us? It wouldn't be fair to not give us a chance just because you don't like one guy-"

"It's the same thing with you as it is with him," Quill said. "You never noticed me. None of you ever did. And you only did because I finally did something to piss you all off." He shook his head. "Stop bugging me about it, I'm not giving anyone a chance. Not now, not ever. Not anymore. I'm done trying to impress you guys. In fact, I was done years ago." He pressed his lips together in a tight frown, then turned around and headed back into the kitchen. He heard Clint say something to Scott, but Quill wasn't about to stick around to find out what it was. 

\---

"Ughhh, I'm so tired," Scott groaned, dramatically flopping himself on Quill's back, dropping his weight onto him. 

"Hey, get offa me, ya big oaf!" Quill laughed, though he had to admit, he was pretty tired himself. They'd spent the past about hour helping clean up the kitchen and the dining area of the restaurant after they closed at 11, but he was relieved to see that it was almost time for them to clock out. Lucky Gamora got to leave at 7 since she had come in earlier; going to a private school meant she got out of school much earlier than Quill, but it also meant she had to work super hard in her classes, so he wasn't all that envious of her. 

"Hey, by the way, that guy from earlier, the one who goes to your school? You said he's part of that group that bullies you, no?" Scott asked as he removed himself off of Quill, then leaned against one of the now neat and organized tables. 

"They don't _bully_ me," Quill corrected. "They just think they're better than everyone else and never bother to include anyone who's not rich into their bunch."

"Well, anyway, if they ever mess with you because of how you are or 'cause of anything you tell 'em, you know you can tell Gamora and I, right? You know we'll go beat up some high school kid ass, right?"

Quill laughed. 

"Yeah, I know." He paused. "Thanks. But don't worry. I got my friend Wanda from school, and her brother; between the three of us, I'm sure we can take down at least half of them, and then run for it." He grinned at Scott, who rolled his eyes, then checked the time on his watch. 

"Its a minute 'til 12, let's go clock out," he said, giving Quill's shoulder a pat as he hoisted himself away from the table. Quill followed after him, and the two did so, took off their aprons and tossed them into a basket where the aprons that needed to be washed went. 

They walked out, and Scott asked, "Are you sure you don't need a ride home? I don't mind taking you."

"Nah, it's cool. Besides, Cassie's still up for you, isn't she?" Scott's face brightened at the mention of his baby daughter; Quill knew how much he loved her, and to be truthful, he did, too. The girl was a super cute baby, and he wasn't a huge fan of babies, so that was saying a lot. He also knew how many people had told Scott he had ruined his life by becoming a father so young, but Scott hadn't listened to any of it, and he had proven them wrong. Honestly, Quill admired him for it. "I'll see ya later, Scott," he said with a smile, and the two fist bumped, then went their separate ways, Scott to his car and Quill walking home. 

His apartment wasn't too far by car, but it was kind of far by foot, and, well, maybe he should've taken Scott up on that ride offer. With each passing second, he picked up the pace. He knew he didn't live in a dangerous area, but that was during the day; who knows what or who was out there at night, and he didn't plan to find out. He was so used to going everywhere by car that he was a little scared, despite the streetlights that brightly lit up the buildings around him. He was practically running home, and he was about to turn onto the street he lived on when he crashed into someone. 

" _Shit, bro, I am so sorry, please don't kill me_ ," he gasped, his voice a squeaky pitch. He scrambled backwards in fear that the person had a knife. 

"Whoa, whoa! No one's killing anyone!" a male voice replied assuringly, his hands held up to show he was harmless. Quill looked up - this guy was tall - and blinked, his eyes wide. Under the street lamp, he could see that the guy had shoulder length dirty blonde hair with waves that neatly fell upon his shoulders. He had a dark blue sweater on, a gray shirt that read "Swag" is large letters (God, that was so lame), jeans, and brown and army green shoes. He was well built, intimidating even, but his blue eyes are just as wide as Quill's, even as startled. 

"Oh, sorry," Quill said, letting out a breathy laugh. "I don't usually go walking around at night, you kinda freaked me out. I think I was panicking."

"No, no, it's okay," the guy said, smiling back. "It was my fault, too, for not paying attention." He held up a plastic grocery bag that Quill hadn't noticed before. "My brother isn't feeling well, I was out buying medicine, and I wasn't paying attention to anything around me."

"Ah, well, I guess we both got busy minds. Sorry again." 

Quill gave a small wave and went around the guy, turning the corner. That guy seemed pretty chill, and his accent - wow, that accent was so entrancing. 

He wished he had a nice accent, too.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Quill was rudely awoken at 5:30 by his alarm. He groaned and hit the snooze button, then closed his eyes once more. It wasn't about ten minutes later when it went off again and he groaned, getting up this time. He sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Five hours of sleep wasn't exactly his idea of a great night, but he was just glad he didn't get his hours cut at work. He really needed the money. He got up and went to the bathroom where he first peed, then went to brush his teeth. After he did so, he went back into his room and opened his closet, pulling out whatever he hoped was clean - his closet was an absolute mess - and started changing out of his pajamas. He pulled his shirt over his head halfheartedly, then his jeans, he pulled a belt around his wait, and then yanked socks and shoes on. He grabbed for his red jacket, but as he brought it up to put it on, he got a whiff of it and wrinkled his nose. He tossed it aside and instead put on a black sweater that was his second most worn sweater/jacket item. He glanced at his clock and it read 5:57. He still had a few more minutes before he'd have to go and take the bus. He hated taking the bus, but he didn't exactly have any other choice. He snatched his backpack that was beside his door as he exited his room. He went into the small apartment kitchen and sifted around for a morning snack, and settled on eating a poptart before leaving. He jumped up on the counter and sat comfortably as he opened up the packaging, pulling one of the two toaster snacks from it, and began to sleepily munch on it. He kept an eye on the clock on the stove, and by the time he was halfway done with the second one, it was 6:10. He slipped off of the counter, wiped off any crumbs that had fallen onto his lap, then put his backpack on. 

"Bye, Yondu," he called out quietly, and he heard his dad grunt to him from his room. Half a pop tart still in hand, Quill grabbed his keys off the dining table and left the apartment, locking the door behind him. 

The bus stop wasn't too far from his apartment complex, but sometimes it came early, and sometimes late; it was a gamble, and Quill wasn't about to risk being late. He was the first one to arrive and he waited by finishing his poptart, but other students eventually slowly made their way to the bus stop as well. It was still dark out, but he could tell they were mostly freshmen and sophomores, maybe one or two juniors. Not that there were many people at the stop, but a good amount. 

The bus arrived and they boarded, Quill choosing a seat relatively close to the front, setting his backpack down beside him so no one would sit next to him. He closed his eyes and, since it was still dark out, he was able to lull into a light nap as the bus went on collecting students from other stops. 

It felt as though only two minutes had passed when he felt the bus stop, and he woke up. The bus was pulling into the bus drop off area, and he grabbed his backpack, scooting towards the end of the seat, and when the bus stopped and the doors opened, he made sure to shove himself in front of some girl before she could stop him and he got off. He entered the school doors that led into a hallway, and he walked to the cafeteria, which, in his opinion, was way too bright for the morning, and he looked around briefly before spotting Ned and Peter at a table sitting across from each other. 

"Quill! G'morning!" Peter said. Ugh, this kid seemed to have the energy of a chipmunk, even this early in the morning. 

"Hey, what's up?" Quill asked with a yawn as he sat down beside Ned. 

He listened as the two boys began to go on about a Harry Potter lego set that they had been dying to complete, and how they had finally gotten the Dumbledore figure to finish off the scene that replicated the scene they had been working on, and nodded every now and then, but they were interrupted when they heard a group of girls giggling abnormally and obnoxiously loud to their left. Their heads turned to the source and heard the girls talking in hushed whispers and pointing towards something in the hall. Quill looked and Peter and Ned, who looked as equally confused as he felt, and Quill stood up. 

"I'll go see what it is," he said. "Wait here."

They nodded and he made his way past the girls and to where they were pointing to, leaving his backpack in the care of Ned and Peter. He peeked further down the hall and found Pietro with a bloody nose, Wanda beside him, both looking angry, and a kid with slicked back black hair wiping off his fist; it was clear who had punched Pietro. They were surrounded by people who were snickering and sneering. Immediately, Quill jogged over to them and shoved himself in between Wanda, Pietro, and the kid, and he gave the kid a hard shove backwards, away from the Maximoff twins. 

"What the hell, dude?" Quill snapped. The kid glared at him and went to push Quill back, but Quill grabbed his arm and yanked him aside roughly, and the kid grunted. "Get away from us, you greasy ass weasel." He gave the kid another push on the back, knocking him to the ground. Quill looked around at the people who had gather and shouted, "Take a picture, it'll last longer!" then he, Wanda, and Pietro shoved their way past them and back to the cafeteria. 

"I think they took a video, not a picture," Wanda muttered as they got back to Peter and Ned. 

"Whoa, what happened?!" Ned gasped, and Peter stood up, dug through his backpack for a pack of pocket tissues, ripping it open, and he pressed a tissue against Pietro's nose. Wanda gave Peter a smile despite the stress clear in her eyes, but Peter was clearly too worried about Pietro's bleeding nose to notice. 

"Some weasel kid that I've never seen before," Quill replied. He looked at Wanda and Pietro for an explanation, but Pietro was busy trying to reassure Peter that he was fine, so Wanda responded. 

"He was angry because he said I was in his way," she said. "Pietro told him he could go around. He got angry and he started to shout at us, and Pietro said nasty words. Then he punched him, and many people were watching. Then you showed up. I think he's new."

"New or not, that doesn't give him the right to be a dick," Quill said angrily, shooting daggering glares at anyone who dared give them looks. "We're lucky no teachers saw, though, or we'd definitely get in trouble."

"Who knows, he might tell on you guys," Ned fretted. 

"That's not fair, though, if that guy is the one who started it!" Peter said as he removed the bloody tissue and gingerly touched at Pietro's nose with light fingers, and murmured something quieter between them only, and Pietro shook his head. 

"No doubt he'd put the blame on us," Wanda agreed. "But I suppose we just have to hope for the best." Quill nodded grimly. 

Peter led Pietro to one of the seats at the table and sat him down once he was finally sure and satisfied that his nose wasn't broken, and he sat down beside him. Wanda and Quill sat down across from them beside Ned, Ned still looking around nervously as if he expected someone to gonna run up them and punch him square in the nose, too. The group was quiet for the rest of the time they were together, and the adrenaline Quill had felt a few moments ago were gone and replaced with sleepiness once more, and he ended up taking a small nap, his head leaned against Wanda's arm and his chin nestled in his arms that rested on the table. Peter was showing Pietro cute puppy videos on his phone, and Wanda was getting help from Ned on her physics homework. When the first bell rang, Wanda nudged Quill awake, and the group got up to head to their first period classes. Peter was off to English, Ned to World Geography, Wanda to APUSH, and Pietro and Quill to Polifical Science. 

"You know, I didn't need your help," Pietro said quietly once it was just them two as they walked to class. "I can defend myself."

"I know." Quill looked at him. "But you don't have to. I know... that we're not really friends, but, I mean, I guess we actually kinda are, y'know? It's the five of us together, right?" 

Pietro was silent for a moment before saying, "You really are different from other people, Quill."

"What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

"You didn't have to risk getting yourself in trouble, but you did."

"Does this mean you're accepting me as a friend?" Quill smiled. 

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I thought we already kind of were. I didn't know friendships needed to be announced." Quill's smile grew to a grin. 

"When it comes to you, it kinda does need to be," he teased. "Does this also mean you'll bake things for me now?" 

"Don't tease me for baking!" Pietro said in mock indignation, though a smile spread on his face, too. They entered their classroom, and by the end of the class, Quill was questioning himself as to why he'd never tried to actually be friends with Pietro. He was such a cool guy, and super chill, too. 

"Do you work today?" Pietro asked Quill as they headed to their second periods together since they were close by each other. 

"Nope, which I'm kinda glad about but also upset 'cause I really needa fix my car, dude."

"Don't you know anyone who could help-" Pietro was cut off as someone roughly shoves him aside, and into Quill, who was quick to stabilize him again. They both glared after the person, and Quill was about to shout something after them, but they turned the corner before he could. 

"I swear to God, everyone in the school and their mothers are barbarians who don't know anything about the words excuse me," he hissed angrily. 

"Why say excuse me to me," Pietro sighed, shaking his head. "Everyone knows what I did, they think I'm not worthy of kind words."

"They only know what they're told," Quill said boldly as they continued walking through the halls. "They don't know the real Pietro and Wanda like Peter, Ned, and I do." 

\---

Second period was a bore, Economics was so not interesting. Third period was no better, English would always be a snore to Quill. Fourth period was actually interesting, but only because they got to watch a movie in Digital Literacy because the computers had been acting up all day, so they were unable to do the assignments that they were actually going to do. Finally, fifth period rolled along, and Quill was back in Earth and Space Science, his stomach growling since third period, and he anticipated lunch eagerly, but the class seemed to drag on. On any other day, Quill would be super attentive in the class, but today was Friday, and he was ready to go home and take a well deserved nap. 

He half listened and watched as his classmates got into groups to discuss whatever topic it was that the teacher had given them. Quill was put into a group of people, and he kept quiet while the others talked, but it wasn't even about what they were supposed to be talking about. Instead, they were just gossiping and messing around. As usual, but it wasn't like he had expected anything new. Everyone had gotten so distracted in their groups that they all jumped when the bell rang for their lunch. 

"Was that our bell?"

"Finally lunch!!" 

"Oh, no! I have all my stuff scattered!"

Quill hurriedly shoved his papers and other items into his backpack and rushed out the classroom and down the stairs to wait for Wanda and Pietro. However, they never came out, even after everyone else in the class had gone out. He peeked into the classroom, but didn't see any sign of them. 

"Excuse me, where are Wanda and Pietro?" Quill asked their teacher. 

"They got taken down to the office by an AP," the teacher replied, glancing up at Quill briefly before going back to the papers he was grading. 

"Oh, alright. Thank you." Quill hurried out of the classroom and to the cafeteria, running into Peter and Ned on his way in. "They got called to the office," he said when he saw their confused faces. Immediately Ned paled and worry spread on Peter's face. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be fine. The AP will understand it was the other guy's fault once they explain the situation."

The headed to their table, where Quill dropped his backpack off and Peter and Ned sat down. Quill headed to the sandwich line, which was rather full, but this time he didn't listen in on people's conversations, too concerned with what was happening with the twins. He hoped they were fine. 'No, of course they're fine. If anything, _I_ would be the one to get in trouble. I pushed the other guy!,' he thought, nose scrunching as he walked forward in line, his eyes on the floor as he moved. He should have looked up, however, because he got a faceful of the person in front of him's back. 

"Ack, sorry," he apologized, taking a step backwards and looking up at the person. He immediately recognized the guy. 

It was the same guy he'd crashed into last night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick Fury is a cool principal.

Quill kind of hoped the guy wouldn't recognize him, too, but he had no such luck. 

"Ah! I didn't know we would be attending the same school!" the guy said, his expression way to happy to be directed at a person he had just met the other day, and for, like, two seconds. "It's nice to see a friendly, familiar face!"

Dumbfounded, Quill sort of just gawked at him, then said, "You, um, you should move up the line," while pointing at the line that was now further from them. 

"Ah, yes." The guy moved forward, as did Quill and everyone else behind them, but as they selected their lunches, the guy kept talking. "I'm new, my family and I just moved here a couple days ago, but I haven't been able to attend school just yet because of the hassle of, well, moving in." He started going on and on about his home life, and Quill was just confused. Why was he telling him all of this? This guy was way too open for Quill's liking. The guy payed for his food, and Quill expected him to go off to his own table, but to his surprise - or maybe it was even his dismay, if he was going to he honest - he waited for him. The lunch lady nodded to Quill as he passed her by, saying, "You're good to go," and Quill moved around the guy. 

"Well, welcome to the school," Quill said, expecting that to be the end of the conversation, but the guy followed him all the way to his table, where Ned and Peter looked from the newcomer to Quill in confusion. He gave a shrug, eyes round, mouthing "I don't know."

Quill sat down in his usual seat, and the guy sat down across from him, where Wanda typically sat. Her and her brother were still nowhere in sight. 

"Thank you," the guy said, smile never leaving his face. Despite how kind he seemed, the never leaving smile was kind of unnerving. "I'm Thor, by the way, Thor Odinson! I would've properly introduced myself last night had I known we would be friends."

Quill choked on the bite of his turkey sandwich that he had taken, and Peter grabbed his own water bottle, opened it and handed it to him. Quill grateful took a mouthful and swallowed, then cleared his throat. 

"I'm sorry, _what_?" he finally asked. " _Friends?_ "

"Yes, of course!" Thor's smile was a little more confused now, but it remained nonetheless. "You're the only person I know, and you're obviously very nice, so I thought-"

"You seen like a socialable person, I mean-"

"Well, Mr. Thor, I think you've made a great decision on choosing Quill as your friend!" Ned piped up and Peter nodded just as eccentrically. Quill gave them a death look, but neither freshman let it falter their enthusiasm. 

"Yeah! Quill can use some more friends!" Peter added as though that were supposed to be helpful in any way. 

" _Dude._ "

"Wait until you meet the twins! Pietro and Wanda are super cool! Look, here they are now!"

Quill looked up in the direction that Peter had pointed, and saw the twins making their way over to them. Wanda looked dejected and Pietro looked... angry was probably the nicest way to put it. 

"Hey, what's going on, what happened?" Quill immediately asked at the two arrived at the table. 

"Who is this big man?" Pietro asked instead, glaring at Thor, who had very much claimed Wanda's spot at the table. 

"Hello, I'm Thor!" Thor introduced himself brightly despite Pietro's hostile tone and stance. Wanda sighed and sat down beside Thor instead of kicking him off her seat, and she dragged Pietro along to sit beside her; she seemed to have deemed him as worthy of her kindness, it appeared. 

"We got in trouble for this morning," she said. "They said that unless we prove it wasn't us, next week would be our last week here. We're getting threatened with expulsion because we have a 'violent past.'" She used air quotations on the last two words, her tone drab with bitterness. 

"What?! No, no, no, I'm going down to the office right now and telling them it was me!" Quill said, standing up. 

"I tried to tell them that," Pietro said. "My first instinct was to throw you under the bus, I'm sorry. But when I said they could ask you yourself, they said you would only take the blame because we're friends."

Quill shook his head in disbelief and sat back down. 

"Someone has to have a video," Ned suddenly after a brief moment of silence. "Wanda, you said yourself that they probably took a video and not a picture."

"Yeah, and at the point, I'm sure the video is circulating around the whole school," Peter said, his eyes shining with determination. "We just have to find someone who had it, have them send it to us, and it'll all be cleared up!"

"You know, amazing ideas, boys, but do you really think anyone would want to give us evidence that would help _us?_ " Wanda asked, gesturing towards herself and her brother. "We all know they don't like us. Any of us."

"Why wouldn't they?" They all jumped. Apparently they'd all somehow forgotten that Thor was sitting right there, looking back and forth whenever they spoke. "What happened this morning anyway?"

The groups exchanged a look, and had one of those silent conversations only friends could have. Thor seemed to have recognized, however, that they weren't about to tell him, so he spoke again. 

"What if I can get the video for you?"

They were all startled by the offer. 

"Everyone's already seen you with us, they'll think we're friends," Quill said. 

"We _are_ friends."

"No, we're not. We just met."

"Then I'll show you that I can be your friend by getting you that video." 

"We can figure it out ourselves-"

"Quill." Pietro looked Quill in the eyes, brows furrowed. "It's worth a shot. If we get that video that easily, Wanda and I don't have to worry. We won't have to leave." Quill looked at Wanda, who's gaze was sad. Ugh, he hated how good those two were good at looking like kicked puppies. 

"Okay, okay. Fine." He turned to Thor. "But until you get that video, you can't sit with us or talk to us unless it's to make fun of us or be rude. Other than that, you have to completely avoid us."

"What? Why would I do that?"

"'Cause then people won't know that for some reason you wanna our friend," Quill explained. "Now stand up and shout at me or something. Throw something at me. Hit me. Push me. I dunno, make it seem like we did some shit to you."

"Wait, no, I don't want to do that-"

"For such a big guy, you sure are a damn coward!" Quill shouted, standing up, slamming his hands down on the table. He knew people were looking now. "C'mon, dude! First you decide to come over here and talk shit about us right to our faces, and now you won't even stand up for yourself?" 

Pietro stood up and walked around Wanda to Thor, pulling him to his feet as well; Thor looked absolutely terrified and confused. "If you can't even lie, how are you supposed to get that video?" Quill heard him hiss to Thor. "What, do you just plan to stand there?" he snapped, this time louder, loud enough for others to hear. 

"Pietro, no, you'll get yourself kicked out for good. There'll be no turning back," Wanda said, her voice edged with warning and fear as she stood up, too, and grabbed her brother by the arm. Peter and Ned had stood up and back away behind Quill, eyes round. 

Pietro met his sister's eyes briefly, then turned back to Thor and went for a punch, but there were shouts of surprise from everyone watching when Thor caught the fist flying towards him. 

"Please don't make me do this." He looked over at Quill desperately, but Quill only said, in the best menacing voice he could, "Give us all you've got, Odinson." Quill's eyes widened when he saw Thor's expression contort from terror to anger as he looked back at Pietro, and his hand tightened around Pietro's fist, Pietro's face tightening with pain, and he let out a shout. 

Security guards and teachers finally noticed - took them long enough - and the two were quickly separated. Pietro was wincing and he held his injured hand with his good one. Thor was already trying to apologize. Quill realized he was glad that Thor's anger had been feigned because, oh, man, would it be awful to be on this guy's bad side. He also realized he , Wanda, Peter, and Ned were about to be escorted to the office, too, before Pietro spoke. 

"They didn't do anything."

"They're going as witnesses," a teacher replied sharply. 

\---

"Pietro, I thought you would finally understand the severity of what you're doing." The principal's voice was harsh, and his one good eye was glaring, though it was kind of funny and sad that Pietro was on first name basis with the principal because of how many times he'd gotten in trouble already. "Two times in one day you've caused problems. _Two. Days._ " 

Pietro was silent. 

"Mr. Odinson, you're new here, and yet from what I'm understanding, you've already taken to _bullying_."

"Sir, I-"

"Parker, Leeds." The two looked up. Peter was already crying because that kid has never gotten in trouble before, and Ned looked on the verge of tears as well. "What the hell happened?" It was as if he knew they wouldn't dare lie. Quill gave them looks of "You can't rat out the plan," but when Peter and Ned looked at him, Principal Fury said, "Don't look at him. Look at me, and tell me the truth. What. Happened." 

"We just didn't want Wanda an Pietro to get expelled!" Ned burst out in a sob. 

"You gotta be kidding me," Quill sighed, but he couldn't blame Ned; he was a good kid, he didn't get in trouble, so of course he'd be nervous. Fury looked at the rest of the group incredulously. 

"And a fight was supposed to _help_ them?" he asked, crossing his arms. 

"We thought if we got the video of this morning's fight, we could show you that it was my fault," Quill explained. "But no one was gonna give it to us, so we thought if this new guy could get it for us, we could show you the truth."

Fury let out a stressed sounding sigh. 

"You mean to tell me you're all willing to get in trouble just to prove a point?"

"I mean, yeah. Kinda."

"Sir, if you can just give us detention, and give us a chance, you'll see we did this as a plan. Thor is not a bad person, he wasn't bullying us. He offered to get us the video," Wanda said. 

"But why won't anyone give it to you?"

"Dude-"

"Don't call me dude."

"Sorry. But have you _seen_ how we're treated?" Quill asked. "We're either invisible or hated. All we got is each other."

"And with all due respect, Mr. Principal Fury, sir," Peter spoke up, his voice quivering, "I know you're about to suggest that you get it yourself, but don't you think everyone will either delete it or deny having it?" He stared down at his feet and added more quietly, "You have to believe us."

Fury's frown was deep and Quill knew the answer they would receive. 

"You get the whole of next week. You won't get in trouble for what happened during lunch, I'll let you off with a warning." Okay, apparently he _hadn't_ known the answer. "But if you don't have proof, you'll all be expelled."

"Holy shiii-iiiiperdoodles," Quill caught himself. 

"Thank you so much," Wanda said, and Pietro let out a breath of relief. 

"I'll get that video," Thor finally spoke up. "And then we'll be friends."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so uhhhh I've actually had chapter 6 ready and done for, like,,,, two or three days?? But I really hated it, and honestly?? I still kinda do. :") but my friend said it was good and I trust her judgement so if this chapter isnt as good as the rest, please don't remind me. :") Maybe the next one will be good idk I'm like dying now, I hate my writing again and I'm all self conscious about posting stories and fanfics all over again-   
> I'm sorry. :")

Now that things were settled, for now, at least, they needed a plan. They decided they'd meet up after school to discuss things, so Wanda and Thor exchanged numbers (Pietro refused to, Quill still didn't have a phone, and Peter and Ned were still blubbering and couldn't quite share words just yet) so they could text later.

"Lunch is almost over," Quill said, then looked at Thor. "Walk over there, don't stand so close to us."

"Oh, sorry." Thor's pace slackened until he was a good distance behind them. 

"Don't be so mean to the big guy," Wanda said with a small smile. "He's willing to help us."

"That's only because he doesn't know what we've done," Pietro scoffed. "I don't trust him. Something about it, it's just... there's something off about him."

"No sense in freaking out now. Fury gave us a week, starting Monday," Quill said as he rubbed Ned's back comfortingly. Peter was glued in between the twins, also a sniffling mess. "Besides, aren't you the one who said this was our only chance."

"And it still is. But it doesn't mean we should welcome him with open arms," Pietro replied with a frown. Quill shrugged and they made it to the cafeteria. They had all lost their appetite, which was pretty rare for Quill, but instead of throwing it all away, they wrapped up whatever they could with napkins and saved it for later. Thor sulkily took his lunch off their table and said softly, "Where am I supposed to sit now?"

"I'm pretty sure literally anyone will be fine with you joining them," Quill said, glancing around the cafeteria, then back down at his sandwich that he was wrapping in napkins. People weren't so discreet when they looked over at them. 

"Hey, Thor, buddy! Come over here!" 

"I suppose you're right. I guess I'll see you guys later," Thor said quietly, and Quill heard him walk away. 

"I knew it," Pietro said. "I knew something was off about him."

"What are you talking about?" Quill looked up at Pietro, and followed his gaze. He was watching the direction Thor had gone, but it wasn't Thor he was watching exactly. It was who Thor was walking towards. 

"Ah, shit." 

It was Tony's group. Of course it was. 

\---

"They're going to turn him against us."

"They already think he's against us, Pietro," Wanda muttered as she carefully sketched onto her paper. 

"He's going to tell them the truth when he finds out how powerful he can be alongside them." Pietro vigorously scribbled a blue colored pencil against his paper as he spoke. "He will join them and we're gonna get kicked out of school."

"He'll get kicked out of school, too," Quill tried to reason as he scrolled through Google images for a good reference of a cassette player; he was borrowing Wanda's phone, of course. 

"Tony Stark will help him out," Pietro said, Tony's name coming out with scorn. "Everyone listens to the Starks. They always do."

"If he ends up getting kicked out of school, we'll attend my friend's high school. It's a private school and it costs a lot, but if we work out butts off, we could definitely pay to finish our senior year. I'm sure you guys would get along," Quill suggested. 

"Who's this friend of yours?" Wanda asked, wiggling her brows at him. She always did have a knack for changing the subject. "Or is she actually your secret girlfriend?"

"Haha, very funny," Quill said, rolling his eyes. "She's a friend from work. Her name's Gamora, and to answer your question, no, I don't think she'd ever want to date me. She's more like a sister to me anyway."

"Are you just saying that because you don't want her to break your heart?" Pietro asked, a smile on his face once more as he joined in on the teasing. 

"Of course not," Quill replied. "She's pretty, sure, but I could never think of her in that way." He found a good image he wanted to use and began to sketch it out. 

"I'm no good at art," Pietro sighed suddenly out of nowhere, shoving his paper away from him. 

"I think it's looking nice," Wanda said encouragingly. She scooted it back towards him. "Why don't you go get your other two colors and we can brainstorm which colors will go where?"

"I don't even know what colors I want to use," Pietro grumbled, pushing it away again. 

"Then I'll go choose a few that I think look nice, and you can decide if you like any. How about that?" Pietro shrugged, clearly having had given up on his piece, and Wanda stood up, giving his shoulder a pat before making her way to a table that had a box of prisma colors in it. She was shot nasty looks by the people at the table, but she remained calm, though Quill and Pietro watched, just in case. 

"You're lucky you have a sister," Quill said. "A sibling in general. I'm all I got at home, and Yondu's always yellin' at me when I mess up. If I had a sibling, I bet he wouldn't be as hard on me."

"We argue sometimes, though," Pietro replied, neither of their gazes leaving Wanda. "We get annoyed with each other, we fight. It's not always puppies and rainbows, you know."

"Yeah, I do. But no matter what, you guys have each other. I want someone like that."

The two fell silent, then Pietro finally broke his gaze from Wanda to look at Quill. 

"Is this where I say something sappy like you have us?" he asked. Quill grinned. 

"If you want to, you don't have to." He shrugged. "But it sure would be nice." Pietro snorted and rolled his eyes. 

"Let's call it an unspoken rule so I don't have to sound like a teenage romcom character." 

"Fair call."

\---

They spent the rest of the class picking out colors until they found some that they found visually pleasing, and wrote down the names on a scrap piece of paper that Wanda said she'd hold onto so they wouldn't lose it. Once the bell rang, they went and found Peter and Ned who were heading to their biology class. After talking for a while, the three headed out to Pietro's car in the student parking area. That's when they spotted Thor there, too. 

"Did you text him, Wanda?" Quill asked, starting to walk in his direction, but was stopped by Pietro. 

"She didn't. Look who he's with," he said in a low voice. Quill looked again and saw Thor with Clint and two others who Quill didn't see very often, Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers. They were talking, laughing heartily occasionally, and Quill and the Maximoff twins immediately veered in the other direction. 

"He sure sounds chummy," Pietro said in an "I-told-you-so" tone. Wanda and Quill looked at each other, both their expressions similar: maybe Pietro had been right. 

Too bad they didn't get enough time to even consider it for long because they were spotted by the four other seniors, and, of course, Clint being the oh, so amazing and kind person he was (can you sense the sarcasm?), he called them over. 

"Should we make a run for it while we still can?" Pietro asked as they froze, backs still towards the others. 

"It'd be no use. Rogers can easily catch us," Quill said, shaking his head. 

They both looked at Wanda, and there was a brief pause before she whipped around and cupped her hands around her mouth, then shouted, "What is it you want from us?!"

"Wanda, what the hell was that?!" Pietro asked, using a fist to lightly hit her on the head as he and Quill turned around too. "Now we look stupider than they already think we are!"

"It's better than actually going up to them!" Wanda shot back. "Or was that your genius plan?" She crossed her arms. 

"Well, how 'bout we take his original plan and run for before they get over here?" Quill squeaked, pointing. Thor, Steve, Sam, and Clint were all headed right for them, and, by God, they were quite the terrifying bunch. 

"What about Rogers?" Pietro asked. "You said he would catch us."

"Use that as motivation to run like the wind!" With those words, Quill turned around and ran. He heard a mixture of confusion from everyone behind him, then he saw Pietro and Wanda running at his side, then Pietro giving his sister a boosting push forward since she was lagging behind a little. 

"Hey, wait up!" they heard Steve shout, and he literally sounded right behind them. 

And apparently he had been because next thing Quill knew he was being grabbed by the back of his shirt collar, him and Pietro both. 

"RUN, WANDA," Quill shouted to Wanda who had stopped to see what had happened, but Steve's buddy Sam had already ran ahead grabbed her by the arm. "SHIT." He had spoken too soon, for Wanda was quick to deliver a swift kick at Sam, who immediately let her go, doubling over in pain. Taking advantage that Steve was distracted, Pietro got himself loose from his grip and Quill slipped out of his sweater. The two then ran to Wanda and the three back away, ready to flee again. If Thor had stuck on their side, he was lying to even the popular group, and in sticking with the act, they'd likely try and beat them up like they'd done to Thor earlier. 

"Hey, hey, don't worry, we're not gonna hurt you," Steve said, holding out Quill's sweater to him. "Not unless we have to." He took a couple steps forward, but only to help Sam up. 

"We aren't scared puppies in need of help," Wanda said, her accent slipping into her words. 

"Let us go and we'll never have to talk about this again," Quill said. He knew they kind of had Fury on their side, in a way, so it wouldn't be hard to pull a tattle tale on them and be a little snitch. 

"You didn't have to run. You don't have to," Clint said. 

"You also didn't have to kick me," Sam groaned from behind them. 

"You grabbed me, it's called self defense," Wanda replied, glare still square on them. 

"Can I talk to you, Quill?" Clint asked, then glanced at Pietro and Wanda and back at Quill. "Alone?"

Quill looked at Pietro who immediately shook his head, then at Wanda who gave a small shrug. 

"Fine." 

"Quill, you are an eternal idiot," Pietro muttered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quill will never learn to not interrupt people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny bc I hated ch 6 but really enjoyed writing this chapter. :^) I hope you guys like it too uwu

Quill snatched his sweater from Steve, his gaze wary, then he and his friends turned away from the others to have a quick quiet discussion. 

"We'll wait for you in the car," Wanda said. "If we see anything going south, we'll come back." She cast a glare at Thor, Steve, Sam, and Clint. 

"Or, you know, you can say nevermind and we can leave here before things _do_ go south," Pietro put in, his frown deep. 

"It's probably nothing," Quill said as he pulled his sweater on again. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"You don't even have a phone to call the police if they kidnap you-"

" _Dude_ ," Quill laughed. "I highly doubt they're gonna kidnap me." 

"Be careful, Quill," Wanda said gently. "I don't want anything bad happening to you." She glanced at her brother, then back at Quill. "Neither of us do." 

"Don't worry," Quill repeated. He gave a thumbs up then turned around again. Regret immediately flooded him; it wasn't too late, right? He could still back out of this, right?

Apparently not. 

He was led aside by Clint, and Wanda and Pietro saw them off before turning around and headed to their car. Steve and Sam turned to leave as well, and when Quill caught Thor's eye, Thor gave him the tiniest of waves, then followed after them. Okay, so he was still going with the plan. That was good to know. 

"I wanted to ask about your friend from where you work-"

"Yeah, about that, how did you know I work there?"

"You seriously need to stop interrupting me whenever I speak please," Clint said, his mouth twitching for a smile of amusement. Quill shrugged and muttered a small sorry, though even he wasn't sure if he meant it or not. 

"What did you need from him?" Quill asked, crossing his arms. 

"He, uh, he said something about your parents," Clint said. "I'm sorry. I had no idea about... anything about you, really. If I'd known, I seriously would've tried talking to you way sooner. I get what that's like, y'know? Trying to fit in..." He trailed off, and Quill took that as his chance to speak. 

"I don't try to fit in, dude. I know I stick out like a sore thumb," he said, frown deepening. "All I wanted growing up was a friend, and I couldn't even have that. Anyway, if that's it, I gotta go find out where that son of a bitch is. He's gonna pay for tellin' you - _you_ of all people - my personal business." He jabbed a finger at Clint's chest at the last sentence. 

"Pet- Quill, he didn't tell me so I could use it against you. He told me he wanted you to enjoy your last year in high school. He said-"

"Listen, man, I don't care, okay?" Quill dropped his arms down to his side and shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together. "I have somewhere to be." He turned away from Clint and walked to where Wanda and Pietro waited in the car. 

"What did he say?" Wanda immediately asked when Quill opened the back door of the car. 

"Nothing important," Quill replied, but he knew his angry tone gave it away to them that he was clearly butthurt by the conversation. Luckily for him, though, they were understanding enough not to press on, not right now, anyway. Knowing them, they'd probably give him time to cool off, and he appreciated it. As he put on his eatbelt, he spoke again. "Hey, I know we had plans, but can we postpone them?"

"Sure, you got a date with someone else?" Pietro asked. His voice was obviously forcefully playful, but, hey, he was just trying to lighten the mood, and, to Quill, it was the thought that counted. 

"More like I got a bone to pick with someone." Quill leaned back into the seat as Pietro started up the car. "Can you drop me off somewhere?"

\---

Once he reassured Wanda about a hundred times that he was going to be fine, he waved them off as they drove away, then turned and entered the apartment complex, headed up the stairs, and banged his fist against a door that he knew well, seeing as he'd been there countless times already. 

It didn't take too long before the door slowly opened, and Quill shoved it open, pushing Scott backwards. 

"What the hell, man?!" Scott yelped, stabilizing himself before he could fall backwards. 

"I could be asking the same thing!" Quill snapped, slamming the door shut behind him after he stepped into the apartment. "How could you tell one of the guys from school about my damn life?!" Scott looked confused for a second before realization dawned upon him. "Yeah, why don't you go ahead and explain that?!" His voice cracked, and his hands were shaking. God, he didn't want to be doing this, it gave him mad anxiety, but he needed answers. 

"Okay, okay, I will." Scott's eyes glanced to Quill's hands, then back to his face, meeting his eyes calmly. "But why don't we both just relax. You're tense-"

"Yeah, I am." Quill was fighting back tears now, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. He walked forward and leaned against Scott's couch. "I'm freakin' out, man." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's bad enough that I'm invisible, but now that they've started noticing my existence, you had to go and tell 'im what a wimp I am."

"Quill, you're not a wimp-"

"Yes, I am!" There went his voice, cracking again as he dragged his hands down his face as he tried to calm himself. He looked at Scott, eyes round and shiny. 

"Quill, I only told him because I want you to have a better high school experience than I did," Scott said softly, gently placing a hand on Quill's shoulder. "I had a huge lack of friends, and this is your last year, your senior year. It's definitely not gonna be like High School Musical, but it has to be better than how you've described it." He shrugged, removing his hand, and shoved them into his pants pockets. "I don't want you to have a bad time like I did." He tried a smile. "Besides, that guy seemed really nice."

"Clint is most definitely _not_ nice," Quill scoffed, shaking his head. 

"And how do you know that? From what I've heard, you've never hung out with him."

"He hangs out with Tony Stark. He's definitely not someone who wants to hang out with me voluntarily. He probably wants something from me. Or maybe they're plotting something against me-"

"Quill." Scott grabbed him by the shoulders, making Quill look him in the eyes again. "You're being paranoid. How do you know he doesn't genuinely want to get to know you? You gave me a chance, why don't you give him a chance?" 

"'Cause I don't give people like him second chances."

"But you will to me? An ex-criminal?"

"That's something forgivable-"

"Quill, it's high school, okay? Yeah, it's shitty, but it's only gonna be as shitty as you'll let it be. You gotta loosen up, man." Scott's adms fell back to his side. "Make some new friends. You might not see them after you graduate, but friends makes everything better." He cracked another smile. "Even work." 

Quill's breathing had eased, and he wasn't shaky anymore. 

"You're probably right. But why couldn't it be any other person in school?" he groaned and sank down to the floor despite the couch being right there. Scott bent down beside him and smiled sympathetically. "Where's Cassie?" Quill asked. 

"With her mom," Scott replied, giving Quill a pat on the shoulder, then stood up. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? I have food and drinks." He made his way to his kitchen, and Quill looked up from where he crouched, hands resting on his knees. 

"Do you have Mountain Dew?" he called to him. 

"Yep." Scott was quiet for a moment before he added, "By the way... once you make friends with that guy, Clint... you should introduce us properly."

\---

**Peter's POV**

The bell dismissing them from their final class and signalling the end of the school day, and Peter and Ned were quick to rush out of the classroom; they had plans with a friend from a different school who had just gotten a new Ninjago Lego set, and, boy, were they excited about. Despite the events that had occurred in the day, they knew this visit to their friend's place would be a calming thing. 

"C'mon!" Peter said to Ned and the two half jogged, half walked to their bikes that were waiting for them in the bike racks. Peter unlocked their chains and they were quick to take off. Fortunately, neither had any after school clubs of any kind that day, so they biked their way to their friend's school dorm. When they arrived, they carefully snuck to the back further side where there were metal stairs that led up the side of the building. They quietly and carefully went up via said stairs, and Peter send their friend a text that let him know they'd arrived. It didn't take long before a door that the metal stairs led up to cracked open, and the familiar face of their friend, Miles, appeared. When Miles recognized them, his face lightened up and he opened the door fully. 

"Dang, did you guys fly here or something?" he laughed as he let them in. "You got here super quick." Peter and Ned grinned. 

"Nah, we've just found a quicker way around to get here," Ned replied. 

"C'mon, Ganke's already super impatient, he wants to get the whole set up ready," Miles said, and Peter felt the stress that he hadn't realized was there release from his shoulders as they relaxed. As much as Peter loved being with Quill, Wanda, and Pieteo, he'd missed hanging out with their old friend from middle school, and, of course, his room mate, whom Peter and Ned had grown fond of as well. Unfortunately, Miles was a grade below them, so Peter and Ned had moved onto high school, meanwhile Miles has stayed behind. 

But it was times like these that he felt in a more comfortable environment that he was used to. 

He felt a small smile find its way into his face as he followed Miles to his dorm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I switched POVs at the end! It was a little test, I wanna know what you guys think?? Like, would you like it if I wrote in others' POVs too, or do you want me to stick to Quill's only??  
> Idk let me know xnxnnxnx


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Scott chapter :^) this was fun to write jxnxnxnx

**Scott's POV**

After spending a good hour and a half with Scott - they had spent the time take, then watching The Flash on Netflix - Quill finally declared it time he went home. 

"Yondu thinks I'm with Wanda and Pietro, so I gotta go before he finds out I'm not. You wanna drop me off at their house?" he asked, standing up. Scott shrugged. 

"Sure. It's about time you introduced us."

"I said drop me off, not meet my friends." Quill made his way to the door, Scott following after him. Scott reached around Quill and opened the door, letting Quill step out into the hall, then he followed after him, locking and closing the door behind him after making sure he had his keys in his pocket. 

"Oh, come on," Scott said, rolling his eyes. "Why's it so bad if I meet them?"

"It's not that it's a bad thing," Quill replied, and they began their way down the stairs (the elevator was known to break randomly in Scott's apartment building, so they'd fallen onto the habit of using the stairs to not risk anything). "It's just weird that my friends from school are gonna be my friends not from school."

"You're really not so keen on change, huh?" Scott teased. They reached the main floor and headed out to Scott's car. It was a little busted, but Scott loved the thing. It lasted him a good while, and would likely last him a little longer, so why trade it out for a new car just yet? Also he didn't have a lot of money. 

"It's not- you know what, fine. You wanna meet them, okay." Quill said, opening the door to the passenger seat. Scott grinned at him and got into the driver's seat, and Quill directed him until they arrived in front of a small looking house. 

They both got out of the car after Scott turned the ignition off, and Quill led the way to the front door, where he knocked. It didn't take long before a guy with platinum blonde and black hair opened the door. He looked sleepy, as if he'd just woken up from a nap. 

"Ah. Quill," he said flatly. "I thought you had plans."

"Nice seeing you, too, Pietro," Quill deadpanned, and the guy, Pietro, presumably, stepped aside to let him in. That's when he noticed Scott, and Scott gave a smile and a tiny wave. 

"Who's this guy?" His look of disdain didn't dishearten Scott, he was used to those kinds of looks. 

"Oh, right," Quill muttered. "Pietro, this is Scott, a friend from work; Scott, this is Pietro, a friend from school." 

Scott stuck his hand out, and Pietro took it, still looking a bit on edge. 

"I've heard a lot about ya," Scott said brightly. "All good things, of course." 

"There isn't much good to say, so clearly you haven't heard much." His tone was scathing, but he let Scott inside regardless, so Scott figured he was just bad at being friendly. That was okay, though. 

"Actually, Quill has a lot of stories to share. He told me how today you punched some kid to defend your sister, that's super cool-"

"Don't you work today, Scott?" Quill broke in. 

Scott pulled out his phone to check the time, then said, "Yeah, but I still have, like, an hour before I gotta go, so-"

"Pietro, there's a disaster in the kitchen!" A girl came out of what Scott was assuming was the kitchen, looking rather frazzled. That's when the smell of something burning hit Scott's nose. 

Pietro immediately went with the girl into the kitchen, leaving Scott and Quill. 

"Was that Wanda?" Scott asked as Quill walked to the living room and dropped himself on the couch, Scott trailing after him. He tentatively sat down beside Quill before relaxing. 

"Yeah," Quill responded. "Though I'm not sure what she meant by 'disaster in the kitchen.' She's really good at cooking."

"But unfortunately not so great at baking." Wanda had come out of the kitchen with an embarrassed look on her face, but when she saw Scott, she smiled and extended her hand towards him once she made her way over to them. "I'm sorry you had to walk in on me in such a disastrous moment, my name is Wanda."

"I'm Scott! And it's totally fine, I probably would've messed it up way worse," Scott joked, standind up and shaking her hand. "And don't get me started on my cooking skills. I usually get take out or leftovers from where I work." Wanda laughed. 

"You're Quill's friend from work, no?" she asked. 

"The one and only," Scott said. "Well, actually there's Gamora, too-"

"Hey, Wanda, have you texted Thor yet?" Quill suddenly cut in. 

"I did, he left me on read," she said, pulling out her phone to show him, causing Quill to frown. "And I tried to call, too, but I was taken to his voicemail."

Scott looked between the two. Thor was a new name that Quill hadn't mentioned before. Right now wasn't probably the right time to ask, though, judging by the scowl that Quill now sported. 

Luckily, Pietro returned from the kitchen and saved Scott from having to awkwardly stand there any longer. 

"Wanda, how did you seriously mess up cupcakes this horribly?" Pietro sighed. He was wearing oven mitts and was holding very crispy looking lumps in a cupcake tin. "All you had to do was follow the instructions on the box."

"I was trying to make them with a chocolate filling, and the box didn't have those instructions on it," Wanda weakly explained, handing her phone to Quill, who began to quickly and vigorously type a message, then hit send. 

"Chocolate filled?" Pietro echoed, walking over to them. "What for, you don't even like chocolate that much." Wanda sighed, her shoulders sagging. 

"They were supposed to be for Quill." 

Quill looked at her, clearly startled, and Scott couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. 

"For _me_?" Quill asked. 

"Yes. I saw how upset you were after your conversation with Clint, and I know how much you like sweets, so I wanted to make you something to make you feel better." Wanda gave a small shrug. "But clearly it didn't work out, and now you're still upset and I don't even have a single good cupcake I can give you." 

Feeling bad for the poor girl, Scott reached to the cupcake tin Pietro was holding and plucked out one of the burned cupcakes and ripped it in half. Melted chocolate sat in the middle, threatening to drip down, and Scott took a bite. 

"I think only the outside got burned 'cause the inside tastes great," he said around the mouthful, handing Quill the other half. Quill accepted it and took a bite, then nodded with a seemingly impressed look on his face. 

"You know what, he's right," Quill agreed, nodding to Wanda. "Maybe with more practice you can beat Pietro at the baking game." Wanda's eyes noticeably lit up, and she grabbed a cupcake as well, splitting it open and handing one half to her brother. The two tried it, and she got praise from her brother, which Scott guessed was a good thing or something, seeing as Wanda was basically shining with pride. 

Their cupcake feast was interrupted by Scott's phone ringing. It turned out to be the manager of the restaurant asking if he could come in half an hour earlier than what he was originally supposed to. Scott agreed, then hung up. 

"Ah, man. I gotta get going or I'm gonna be late," he said, tossing the rest of the cupcake, burnt part and all into his mouth. He pointed to the tin that Pietro still held. "Can I take one for Gamora?" 

"Oh, sure!" Wanda said, beaming. She was clearly proud of herself, it was cute. "Let me get you a ziplock bag." She hurried away back to the kitchen, then came back with a little baggy. Pietro helped her put one of her cupcakes into it, and handed it to Scott. He took another one for himself, then let himself be escorted to the door by Pietro, who had left the cupcake tin on the backrest part of the couch, waving with his cupcake still in hand. 

"Thanks for having me over! It was great finally meeting you two!" He took a bite of the cupcake. "And you guys should totally try the burnt part, it's not as bad as you think. See you tomorrow, Quill!" 

"See ya, Scotty," Quill replied, waving back. 

"Thank you for visiting us, it was nice meeting you as well!" Wanda said, smiling happily. Scott walkes out the door, then turned when he heard Pietro go, "Hey, Scott."

"Thanks for, uh, making my sister feel better about her baking," Pietro said, and Scott swore he saw the beginnings of a smile. 

"No problem, man." He held up the cupcake. "It's really good." With that, he turned around and made his way to his car so he could get to work on time.

\---

"You... brought me a burnt cupcake..." Gamora sounded and looked extremely unimpressed. 

"It's really goooood," Scott said, nudging the plastic bag towards her. 

"Scott, I'm not gonna eat that." 

Scott shook his head. "You don't know what you're missing out on, Gamora." He picked the bag off the table that separated them in the restaurant's kitchen and walked to the employee room where their lockers were. Knowing her combination, he opened up her locker and placed it on top of her backpack. "I'll leave it here for when you change your mind." 

"I'm not gonna," Gamora scoffed. "And get outta my locker." She walked over to him and gave him a light smack over the head. "I gave you my combination _once_ and you memorized it."

"I tend to remember the most useless things," Scott joked, and the two made their way back to the kitchen. 

"Stop messing around, and do your job," Hope, another employee, called to them. "You're not getting payed to mess around." She was nice and Scott got along with her for the most part, but she could be really bossy sometimes. 

But, alas, she did have a point, and Scott and Gamora chorused, "Sorry, sorry," practiced many times, really, from the amount of times they'd said it on previous occasions where they were, yes, messing around, and had to be reminded that they were at work. 

"There's a table that needs waiting on," Hope said, "and another that needs clearing to be done."

"And just what are _you_ gonna do? Sit around and order us around?" Gamora grumbled, but Hope either didn't hear her, or she chose to ignore the other girl. Either way, she didn't respond, and Gamora and Scott exited the kitchen. 

"I'll clean the table," Scott said, knowing that was Gamora's least favorite task. She gave him a grateful look and pulled out a small notepad from the pocket of her apron, and the two parted ways as she went to go take orders and Scott went to clear the table off for the next customers that would come in. 

He was in the middle of skillfully stacking dishes up so he could take them all back to be washed in one go then come back and wipe down the table when the next customers came in. He glanced around, hoping there was an empty table, but unfortunately, Friday nights were the busiest, and the only empty table was the one he was doing his best to quickly get cleaned. He cursed under his breath, and picked up the dishes, hurrying into the kitchen, practically dropping the dishes into the sink, earning him a glare from another employee who was in the middle of washing them. He gave a quick apology and headed out the kitchen doors, cleaning rag in hand, but he saw Gamora had already noticed his struggle and had helped him out by wiping down the table and helping the customers get seated, and was taking their orders, and he slipped back into the kitchen. 

"You are such a life saver," Scott sighed to Gamora when she returned to the kitchen. She gave a modest shrug as she handed the notepad with the orders to the chefs.

"Someone has to be there for you, Scott. You can be such a mess sometimes," she said jokingly. 

"Thanks." 

The orders were make relatively quickly and, with the help of Hope, they set out to give each table their orders. Scott took two dishes, one in each hand and used his hip to push the door open, then headed to the first table, reciting the food names, then giving each person their designated plates, then went back to the kitchen to be replaced by Hope, who did the same as he did. He took a dish from Gamora to save her the trouble of possibly dropping it - she was trying to carry three at once - and followed her to the second table that they had cleaned together. 

They gave each person their plates, and when Gamora was asking if they needed anything else, Scott looked at the customers, and recognized one of them; it was that guy, Clint, the one who wanted to be Quill's friend.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing in different POVs and now that I know that people actually like it, I'm going ham on it x"D  
> Clint is that guy that's trying to be nice but it comes off as almost stalkerish lmfao

**Scott's POV**

"Is he working right now?" Clint's question was obviously directed to Gamora and/or Scott, but Gamora looked a little more confused than Scott did. 

"No, he's, uh, he's at a friend's house." He paused, then added, "You really gotta stop stalking the guy if you wanna be his friend, though, it's really weird." He cracked a smile, and he and Gamora turned away from them, making their way back to the kitchen. 

"Isn't he that guy from last time?" Gamora asked once they were out of earshot. 

"Yeah, he's our buddy's soon-to-be friend." Gamora raised a brow at him. 

"Seriously?" She glanced over her shoulder and peered out through the window on the door. "Hm. I wouldn't have thought so. I thought he hated that guy."

"Not for long." Scott threw a wink, and Gamora rolled her eyes. 

"Come on, let's work before Hope gets on us about it again."

\---

**Peter's POV**

"I'm sorry, Aunt May! I guess I forgot to tell you I'd be visiting Miles!" Peter winced at the worry in his Aunt's voice as she chewed him out for being out so long. "I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I'm coming home right now." He apologized once more, then hung up. He turned back to Miles, Ned, and Ganke. "So, uh-"

"I mean, clearly you gotta go," Miles said, smiling sympathetically. He stood up off on Ganke's bottom bunk. "Ganke and I can clean up here, you and Ned should go."

"Yeah, it is getting kinda late," Ganke agreed. "We can finish this some other time." He gestured to the mix of instructions and Lego pieces on the floor. Ned nodded and stood up as well. He and Peter grabbed their backpacks and went to the door, where they pulled their shoes back on. 

"Bye, Miles, bye, Ganke," they chorused as they left the room. They left the same way they'd come in, and went to their bikes. 

"I gotta stop by the store to buy some bread, I think May might be too mad at me to make me lunch on Monday," Peter said with a sigh. "I'll see ya later." He and Ned said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. The sun was setting quickly and was pretty much gone by the time Peter reached the grocery store. He carefully locked his bike into the bike rack and stepped into the store. He wandered around the isles for a moment, then paused at the cooler areas, the lunchables catching his eye. It was easier to buy these than to make his own lunch, so why not? Plus they came with candy. 

He was deciding between the cracker sandwich one and the pizza one when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and someone said, "Hey, kid-," but he didn't give the person a chance to finish their sentence. He jumped away, turning around, only to be face-to-face with Tony Stark himself. 

He knew he shouldn't, but, God, Peter admired this guy. He was practically his idol. 

"Tony- Mr. Stark- Mr. Tony- I-," Peter stammered. Tony held up his hand and Peter's mouth clamped shut. 

"Tony is fine," he said. 

"Right, sorry, I- what- what's up?" Peter squeaked. He looked down at his hands, remembering he was still holding the two boxes of lunchables, and he tossed them back with the others, laughing nervously. Tony watched him as if he were rethinking what he was about to say, but finally, he spoke again. 

"I've seen you around school, Peter, is it?" Peter nodded. "You're a pretty smart kid, and my buddy Bruce and I were lookin' for some smart freshmen to possibly join the tech club." Tony shrugged. "Only if you're interested, of course, but if you are, you'll need to take a test to join. The club was a mess before we took over, and we won't let just anyone in. It's a competition thing, really, you know how much our school loves to win." He did mocking cheer signs with his hands. "You should stop by. It's after school on Tuesdays in class 209." 

Peter was gawking at him; was he seriously being invited to join a club by _the_ Tony Stark?! 

"I-I'd love to try for it!" he said, nodding. "Thank you so much!"

"Ah, well, don't thank me yet. It's really up to you if you make it in or not." Tony shrugged again, looking thoughtful. "Though I _am_ the club leader, so I might be able to pull some strings if you somehow mess the test up." 

On the outside, Peter was as calm and collected as he could be, but on the inside, he was jumping for joy. He seriously couldn't believe he would get the chance to be with some of the smartest people in the school, that they considered _him_ one of the smartest, too!

"Don't you worry, I'll do so good!" Peter said enthusiastically. 

"Sounds good, kid. See ya Tuesday, then." Tony gave a small smile and a wave, and turned away from Peter, soon leaving him standing there alone. 

' _Oh, man, this is so exciting, I can't believe I'm gonna be part of the club, and with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner at that, this is unbelievable!_ ,' he thought as he went back to deciding which lunchables he'd get for tomorrow, though it was a little hard to concentrate. He settled on the pizza one, mainly because it had a Snickers in it, and he knew Quill had a sweet tooth especially when it came to chocolate, so-

Wait. 

Quill. 

Peter felt a wave of guilt. He had completely forgotten about his friend's hatred towards Tony and his friends. What was he supposed to do?

Of course he didn't want to make Quill mad, but...

Why should Peter have to stop doing what he wanted because of Quill...?

No, that's because it wasn't nice. He knew Quill, and he knew it wouldn't be fair to go behind his back to hang out with the people he hated most. 

But then again, who ever said he'd have to know?

Unlike the people in movies Peter had seen, he was good at keeping secrets. It wouldn't hurt Quill if he didn't know. 

And so Peter finally went to pay for his lunchables, happy with his decision. 

He didn't think of it as betrayal of any kind. In fact, he thought of it as a skillfully plotted choice that wouldn't harm anyone. 

\--

**Scott's POV**

After his shift was over, Scott gathered his belongings, called goodbye to the others still working, and clocked out. As he was heading out, he heard his name being called out before he could exit the restaurant. He turned around and found, of course, Clint still there. 

"Dude, it's, like, 11, go home," Scott said, half joking, half serious. 

"Sorry, I..." Clint paused, scratching the back of his neck and looking away. "I wanted to know more about Quill. He, uh, I don't really think I'm gonna get anywhere with him if he can't even stand a five minute conversation with me." He looked at Scott again. "And, I mean, you're clearly his friend, and probably the only one who'll talk to me. Plus that girl who works here is, uh, intimidating..."

Scott couldn't hide his snort of amusement, which earned him a glare from Clint. It was clearly an embarrassed glare, but it was a glare nonetheless, and Scott held up his hands in defense. 

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed. "Yeah, I guess Gamora _can_ be scary." He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "But I don't think you need to rely on me. I think he's willing to give you a chance. You just gotta be a little patient, I guess. Quill can be... complicated. But he's a great person when you get to know him." Scott glanced at the time on a clock hanging from the restaurant wall. "Anyway, I gotta get goin.' I'll, uh, I'll see ya later, since you seem to be making a habit out of coming here." He grinned as Clint stumbled in a protest - "It was two times!" - then gave a small wave and left the restaurant, and went to his car to head home. 

\---

**Thor's POV**

Thor had been hanging out with and getting to know Steve, Clint and Sam that by the time they had to part ways, he felt as though they had known each other for forever. 

They had gone to eat at a restaurant that served food that was absolutely amazing after seeing a movie, but when it came time to leave, Clint had said he had to stay behind. Thor assumed it was to ask about the person he'd asked about earlier when they had been ordering, so he agreed to it, and he, Sam, and Steve had gone out to a small comic shop that Steve's friend, Bucky, worked at. 

When Thor had first met Bucky, he'd been a bit unsure about him; he seemed like those brooding types of guys who didn't get along with anyone. However, as soon as he was with Sam and Steve, it was almost as if he was a completely different person. He smiled when he was around them, and the three seemed like very close friends, and, as it turned out, Sam and Bucky were actually in a relationship, and Steve was their best friend who supported them even when he third wheeled sometimes. "That's why I'm glad you joined us," Steve had joked to Thor. 

Now, they had each said their goodbyes and were headed home. Thor was happily walking under the street lamps and the lights of the occasional car that passed. He was walking past a small park when he remembered he'd shut off his phone before going into the theater, so he slid it out of his pocket and held the power button to turn it on. He was so focused on it, though, that he didn't realize he'd been walking relatively quickly and he crashed into the person who was walking much more slowly in front of him. 

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Thor took a step back, worriedly checking to see if the person was okay. They turned around and Thor saw it was Quill. He grinned. "We really have to stop crashing into each other like this," he chuckled, but Quill didn't seem to be in a light mood. 

"Dude, we were supposed to meet after school," he snapped. "Wanda texted you, and you left her on read! You couldn't even bother to say 'oh, hang on, my new popular friends are more important than you.'" Thor winced at his sharp tone. 

"I didn't mean to leave her on read, I was going to reply!" Thor said. "But we went to see a movie, and I turned my phone off-"

"Right, right, my bad, I should've remembered you have better things to do." Quill scowled. "We should've known better than to trust that you'd actually help us. You're just like them: full of yourself."

"They're not full of themselves, Quill. They're good people!" Thor tried to convince him, but Quill was obviously not having it. 

"Whatever, man. Just don't bother to give us your excuses. Don't even bother to try and 'help' us anymore. We'll get the video ourselves." He turned around and stormed off, and Thor stared after him, distraught. 

He just didn't understand. 

Quill said so many bad things about the apparently popular group from school when he didn't even know them, didn't even bother to try to get to know them. 

If anything, Thor kind of felt as though Quill were the awful one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No thorquill yet :^( but they'll learn to love each other. :^)  
> Also some sambucky for the soul xD


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh please don't hate me for this chapter lmfao okay I'm gonna go work on chapter 11-

**Quill's POV**

Despite it being the weekend, Yondu didn't let Quill sleep in. 

"Wake up, boy! I got places to be, and I don't wanna come home to a pig sty!" Yondo slammed open the door to Quill's room and smacked the door loudly. Quill groaned and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow, but it didn't last very long. Yondu had walked into the room and yanked the pillow out of his grip. "C'mon, I didn't teach you ta be lazy!" 

"It's mostly your mess anyway, why do I gotta clean it...?" Quill grumbled, but he sat up onto his knees anyway, giving Yondu an almost seemingly pouty glare, which only earned him an eye roll. 

"Don't you be complaining, boy, you know how I feel about that."

"Okay, okay. I'm up." Quill sighed and turned over to sit properly, and when Yondu seemed sure he wouldn't go back to sleep, he left the room, saying something about having to go to some meeting. With who, Quill had no idea, but Yondu didn't stick around long enough for him to ask. 

Alone in the apartment, Quill sat a bit longer in bed, when there was a knock on the door. Assuming Yondu had forgotten his keys and was coming back for them, Quill scrambled out of his bed and went to the door, still in his pajama pants. He opened it, but instead of finding Yondu, he found Pietro. 

"Ew, ugh, put on a shirt, no one wants to see that." Pietro made a face, looking away. 

"Gee, thanks." Quill crossed his arms. "What's up, why're you here so early?"

"Wanda got sick overnight. Stomach flu. She thinks it was her cupcakes and insisted I come over to check on you."

Quill shook his head, brows furrowing. "I'm fine, I don't think it was her cupcakes. I'll give Scott a call, though, to make sure." Quill began turning away, then looked back at Pietro. "You wanna come in?" Pietro visibly hesitated, then stepped in, meanwhile Quill went to the landline phone that Yondu insisted they kept for some unknown reason that he never bothered to explain. 

"You're the only person I know who still has one of those," Pietro snorted, making himself comfortable at the small dining table. 

"It's really useful, actually, 'cause I don't got a phone," Quill replied with a shrug as he dialed Scott's number. He held the phone up to his ear and waited, listening to the calling sound go on and on, until finally he heard Scott's sleepy voice on the other end. 

"Hello...?" 

"Hey, sorry 'bout the early call, but are you sick?" 

"No...? Why?" 

"You feel in no way as if you might have the stomach flu?"

"I'm pretty sure if I had the stomach flu I wouldn't have just been sleeping like a baby, Quill." 

"Alright, cool, thanks. I'll leave ya to it, then."

"See ya later, Quill." 

Quill hung up and shook his head at Pietro. "No stomach flu of any kind. You can tell Wanda not to worry, then, I guess. Tell her i hope she feels better, though. I'll come by and visit later if I can- what?" Quill cut off his rambles when he realized Pietro was staring at him kind of weirdly; his brows were furrowed and he was sort of squinting at him as if trying to focus on something Quill might have on his face. Quill turned around and whispered, "What are we looking at?" He kept looking around, even peering into the kitchen, but saw nothing. 

He was starting to turn around, mouth opening to say something, but as he was, he bumped into something. He found Pietro standing close behind him, still looking a little confused and lost. "Whoaaa-oookaaaay, hi, what's up?" Quill's eyes were round as he stared up at Pietro as he turned around fully. He saw Pietro's hands twitch, and Quill took a step back, but was stopped when Pietro took his wrist and pulled him even closer. "Oookay, this is-, " Quill started, but his words were stopped when Pietro leaned forward and closed the space between them. 

An instant evaluation of the situation immediately ran through Quill's mind. Okay: Pietro was kissing him. It wasn't like he didn't mind it- wait. He didn't mind it? Huh. That's weird, but okay. Why didn't he mind it? Well, Pietro wasn't a bad looking guy, in fact, he was really handsome, actually. And, sure, Quill had sometimes stolen glances at him when he hung out with Wanda before he and Pietro had established each other as friends, but that was because he was curious! Well that, and also because okay, fine, maybe Pietro was kindamaybehot- 

Finally ignoring this evaluation, Quill decided to just go with it. He reached up and placed his hands on the back of Pietro's neck, moving his lips against the other's. As fast as it began, though, they had to stop to breathe. Pietro leaned his forehead against Quill's, and Quill spoke. 

"Is this weird, oh, God, this is weird, isn't it? We shouldn't-" He was stopped again by Pietro locking their lips again. 

"Why should this be weird?" Pietro breathed out, separating briefly before continuing. Pietro was kissing him as though he couldn't get enough of him, as though he'd been anticipating this for so long, as though Quill were water, and Pietro was dying of thirst. 

Quill tensed up, however, when he felt Pietro's hands run up and down his sides, and Pietro stopped altogether, his eyes wide.

"Sorry, is that- should I not-"

"No, no, sorry, your hands are just really cold," Quill said, giving an awkward cough. He gave Pietro a pat on the chest. "You should, uh... go back and check on Wanda." 

"She... doesn't actually have the stomach flu." Quill's head snapped to look at Pietro. He found him wincing, a light blush brushed on his face. "I made that up. I just... wanted a reason to come see you. I'm sorry."

"Wooow, that's... okay, um..." Quill racked his mind for something to say, but he was honestly just kind of embarrassed now. "I guess I woke Scott up for nothing, then." 

Pietro stared at him blankly. "Is that... seriously what you're thinking right now?" he asked slowly. 

"Yes. I mean, no. Not really? I don't know what to think. You're my best friend's brother, and we just kissed, and the thing is I didn't hate it, and I don't know why, and we are still standing really close and I am kind of turned on right now which is really super weird, I should _not_ be, and _holy shit_ , man, we are _so_ close to each other, I'm suprised you haven't made any comment about feeling anything goin' on with me right now." He pressed his lips tightly together to stop the tumbling words from continuing. He couldn't even bear to look Pietro in the face anymore until he heard a chuckle from the other. "I'm sorry, I just made this even more weird, didn't I?"

"A little, yeah." One of Pietro's hands moved to rest on Quill's hip, and he used his other to move Quill's face to look at him again. "I was going to spare you the embarrassment so early in the morning, but now that you mentioned it, I can't stop thinking about it," he murmured quietly. Quill felt as though his face were on fire at this point. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but words had escaped him entirely, he was kind of just gaping at Pietro, earning him another small laugh. 

"You've been here before, right?" Quill finally asked. Pietro looked startled by the question, then slowly nodded. "I don't think you've ever seen my room." 

\---

Pietro had fallen asleep after their... _adventure_ , but Quill couldn't. They were curled up in Quill's rather small bed, Quill practically laying on top of Pietro because of its size, Pietro sleeping soundly. Their bare skin was pressed tightly against one another under the blanket, and-

"Holy fucking shit," Quill whispered. This didn't seriously just happen, did it? He didn't just have sex with Pietro Maximoff at seven in the morning... did he? 

\---

**Scott's POV**

After being woken up via phone call by Quill, he had tried to go back to sleep, but with no luck. Instead, Scott had lay in bed for a few minutes before finally getting up to make himself something to eat, namely probably a bowl of cereal. He trudged into his kitchen and rummaged around the cupboards, selecting a box of Frosted Flakes and placed it on the counter. He got himself a bowl and a spoon, and took the milk out the refrigerator. He made himself his bowl of cereal and was shoving a spoonful into his mouth when his phone rang. It was Quill again. 

"What's up?" he asked around the mouthful he had. 

"Remember when you said to have a good high school experience this final year?" Quill's voice sounded a tad bit urgent. 

"Yeah...," Scott replied slowly, swallowing the cereal and shoving another spoonful in place. "Why? What did you do, Quill?"

"I kinda think I did, but probably not with someone I expected. I, uh, I danced the devil's tango with someone." 

Scott choked and spat his cereal out onto his counter to prevent himself from actually dying on the spot. 

" _Did you have sex with Clint?!_ " he whisper shouted into the phone. 

"Wha- Clint?! No! You're misinterpreting this!" Quill sounded repulsed by the suggestion. Scott sighed with relief and got another spoonful to eat. "It was with Pietro!" 

Poor Scott spit out his cereal again. 

"I'm sorry, _what_?" He wiped the tears from his eyes that had formed from choking. "You had sex with your friend?"

"Yes?? I think??" 

"What do you mean 'you think'?" 

"I mean, yeah, I did, but, like, I didn't think I would!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I said enjoy your high school experience! That doesn't mean have sex with the first person you see!" 

"I know that's not what that means, I'm not an idiot, but you know he's not an awful looking guy, you saw him yourself! And by the way, man, if you had seen him, Jesus Christ, bro, this guy is piece of work."

"I most definitely did _not_ need to know that, that is absolutely disgusting, what the hell-"

"Oh, shut up, you asked- ah, shit, I gotta go, he's awake."

"I didn't ask- wait, he's still there?!"

"Bye, Scott, see ya later-" Quill hung up and Scott had lost his appetite. He really didn't need to know about Quill's sex life, and yet he had still told him. Gross. He didn't want to have the image of what Pietro's body might look like naked, and he especially didn't want to imagine nor remember the fact that Quill and him had done things to each other. It was not only weird but it made Scott extremely uncomfortable to say the least. 

Why had he decided it was a good idea to pick up the phone?

He wished he hadn't because now he had a bowl of cereal sitting in front of him that he couldn't bring himself to finish anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First kiss of the fanfic and it's not even thorquill, I am so sorry xD
> 
> Did I mention this was a slow burn fic-  
> A lot is gonna happen before we get to the actual good stuff, I'm sorry-


	11. Chapter 11

**Quill's POV**

"Ah, sorry for falling asleep," Pietro said with a seemingly embarrassed laugh as he sat up in Quill's bed. Quill had thrown the phone aside on his desk, and shrugged. He had already pulled a pair of clean boxers on and a pair of basketball shorts. 

"It's, uh, it's cool, it's fine." He coughed to clear his throat, then said softly, "What... does this make us?"

"I guess that depends on you," Pietro said after a a moment. "What do you _want_ to be?" He looked at Quill with expectant eyes, and it took all of Quill's will to not squirm under his gaze. It was gentle and patient, yet asking and nervous, almost as nervous as he felt himself. 

"I don't know, I mean... I don't wanna freak Wanda out-"

"Don't think of my sister right now." Quill looked at Pietro, startled; normally he was all about how his sister was feeling, and now seemed like a time when they should be worried about her. "We can think about her later. Right now, it's... this is about you and I, Quill. When this is decided, we can talk to her, Peter, and Ned. But this is up to us. Not anyone else." 

Well, gee, that was a lot of pressure. 

"I..." Quill scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Why did you do this?" he finally asked. Pietro went quiet. 

"I'm... I've grown fond of you, Quill." His response made Quill's face heat up, and he looked away. "You're different, a good different, and- ergh, I'm seriously gonna sound sappy right now, but I think I've liked you for a while now." 

"Y-you have?" Quill's voice was small. 

"Yes, but you know I'm not so great at... feelings." Quill nodded thoughtfully as he chewed on his thumb nail. "But if you want to stop right now, if you want to stop this and not let anything else happen, I can do that. We can forget about this, forget it ever happened." Quill looked up at Pieteo again. "I'd... I'd do that. For you. If I made you uncomfortable. If you regret this. But I just want you to know that _I_ don't." His voice was a level of soft that Quill didn't even think was possible for Pietro, and by God, was Quill's heart just a pile of mush now. 

"How do we even do this? Do we have to, like, as each other out properly, or..." Quill gave a shy smile. "Can it be an unspoken thing?" A smile spread on Pietro's face. 

"I'm okay with that." He pointed at the blanket on top of him. "By the way, can you pass me my clothes, I'm still naked under here." 

"Oh, right!" Quill scrambled to the clothes that they had strewn aside on the floor and picked out Pietro's clothing, then handed it to him. "I'll, uh, I'll go clean while you get dressed." 

Pietro gingerly grabbed Quill by the chin and pulled his face close to his own, their lips brushing as he said, "Or you can help me...," but before anything else could ensue again, Quill slipped away, his face bright red. 

"I should really get cleaning before Yondu gets back. I dunno how long he's gonna be gone, but if it's a mess when he gets back, he's gonna be pissed," he yelped, backing out of the room, grabbing a shirt on his way out. "N-not that I totally wouldn't love to, um, h-help you, but-" 

Pietro laughed, and waved his hand dismissively at Quill. "It's okay. We can take this slow." He smiles sweetly at him. "I'll be out in a minute." 

"Okay," Quill squeaked and scrambled out of the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, his breath heavy. 

This was new. Wow, yeah, this was _definitely_ new. It was a good new. But new nonetheless. 

Shaking his head as though that were supposed to somehow clear it, Quill pulled his shirt over his head and started to pick up the newspapers and magazines that Yondu left laying around in the living room, putting them neatly in a pile and setting them on the small table beside the couch. He was gathering a plate and coffee mug that still held half of its contents, cold by now, when Pietro came out of his room, dressed once more. 

"Ah, hi." Quill gave him a small wave with the coffee mug, careful not to spill any. 

"Do you need help? I don't mind-"

"Oh, no, it's okay. Honestly, I'm kinda embarrassed 'cause it's such a mess," Quill muttered as he walked to the kitchen, leaving the dishes in the sink to wash later. 

"I don't mind. I can help. What do you need me to do?" Quill glanced at Pietro hesitantly, then pointed to the couch; its pillows were slumped over and two on the floor. 

"Can you fix that up?" he asked. 

Pietro nodded, and in no time, they had finished cleaning together, all that was left was to wash the dishes, which Quill said he'd push to even later. 

"Thanks for the help," Quill said with a smile, which Pietro returned. He glanced at the time on the clock that was hanging on the wall, it read 8:24. "Wow, it's still pretty early," he commented. Ugh, why was this suddenly so awkward?! 

Almost as if ye could sense his discomfort, Pietro spoke. "This doesn't have to be any different than how we were before. You don't have to change. I like you for who you are." He walked around the coffee table to the side that Quill stood at and rested his arms on Quill's shoulders, smiling gently at him. "I like your hot-headedness, how worked up you get when you have an idea forming, how you're an amazing friend, how your eyes shine when you get excited, how you can't stop talking when your passionate about a topic." He paused as he leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together, then continued. "I love how you kiss-" he pressed a long kiss against Quill's lips, and Quill slipped his hands to gently grab the back of Pietro's neck, then Pietro pulled away "- I love how you get nervous and embarrassed when I do things like this-" his hand slipped under Quill's shirt, and Quill felt himself blushing "- and I definitely love every little bit of you." 

"God damn it, Pietro, I didn't take you for the loving kind," Quill mumbled, shutting his eyes because, oh, man, he couldn't stand to look at Pietro right now, or he felt like he would cry. No one had ever said so many sweet things like that to him. 

"We've known each other for so long and I've never been able to tell you these things," Pietro murmured. "Because I've been so afraid you only liked my sister and would never give me a second thought." 

"I always thought _you_ didn't like _me_. I guess it's 'cause we never actually spoke..." 

There was a pause of silence. 

"We really went from friends to boyfriends really quickly," Pietro chuckled, his fingers tracing along Quill's hip, and Quill swallowed hard. 

"I don't mind it..." 

"I don't either..."

\---

Pietro had ended up texting Wanda, saying he would explain later what he was doing (he had made an awful joke to Quill, saying he would tell her he was doing Quill, to which Quill had bonked him on the head) and that he would be home later. After that, he and Quill had agreed that they should go out before Quill had to go to work at 10. 

"We should go eat breakfast at your work," Pietro said, and Quill agreed. 

"If I worked in any other place, I probably would've said no, but the restaurant serves great food, and the people who work there aren't awful, so yeah, why not?" 

They headed out of the apartment, out of the building, and got into Pietro's car, then headed out on their way, getting to the restaurant much faster than Quill had when he walked. They talked the whole way over, about music, about books, about school. 

"Complete change of topics, but, hey, if we spend two hours here, I can just stay and clock in to work," Quill said as Pietro pulled into a parking space. "I think Gamora is working right now, or if not, Stiles might be, so I can ask to borrow a phone to call Scott, and he can bring me lunch of something-" 

"I can bring you lunch," Pietro said rather quickly, and Quill looked at him startled. 

"O-oh. If you want, I mean, I'm cool with that," he replied. "But lunch later, right now let's start with breakfast."

They got out of the car and made their way into the restaurant. As Quill has expected, Gamora was working, and when she saw him, she gave him a smile and made her way over. 

"Heeey, haven't seen you around these sorts anymore," she joked. "You work today, don't you?" It took her a second to notice Pietro behind Quill, and she said, "Oh, move, you're in someone's way." 

"Actually, he's my frie- my booyyyfrienddd....?" It felt weird letting those words tumble out, and he gave a small confused look. 

"You sure about that? You don't sound so confident." Gamora raised a brow. 

"We're new to this," Pietro piped up. "But yes, we're sure."

"Gamora, this is Pietro, Pietro, this is Gamora." Quill stepped aside and introduced the two. 

"Ah! You're the friend from school!" Gamora said, crossing her arms and nodding thoughtfully. "Well, I guess boyfriend now, then, huh?" 

"So you've heard of me, then?" 

"Only from when this one complains about you," Gamora said, nodding to Quill. When the two looked at him, Quill looked at Gamora with a "what the heck, man??" kind of look, to which she grinned at, and said, "I'm kidding! I've heard only good things! Mostly." She straightened her posture. "Anyway, what table do you guys wanna sit at? There's not a lot of people right now, so you got plenty to choose from." She shuffled aside to let them see, and Pietro and Quill settled on a table by the window. Gamora followed along and placed menus in front of them. "I'll be back to take your orders." 

With that, she turned away from them and left to go tend to the other customers. 

"Does this count as our first date?" Quill asked. 

"If you want it to be," Pietro said as he picked up his menu. "But I was hoping I could take you out to a movie first. Take small steps. Then we can have sex again-"

" _Oh my God, don't say things like that out loud!_ " Quill gasped. "It's bad enough we... _did it_ before we could even go on one single date-"

"It's a bad thing that we had sex before we started dating?" Pietro looked like a hurt puppy. 

"Nonono, it's not bad at all, it's grea- it was great, I had a great time!" Quill quickly said, shaking his head. "I just didn't think we'd do it so soon! But I'm not complaining! You did great and- Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell am I even saying anymore?" 

Pietro was laughing not so discreetly at him and Quill buried his face in his hands. 

"I'm sorry, you just look really funny when you get so flustered," Pietro said in between giggles. 

"Wow, thanks. Normally people would say cute instead of funny, but okay," Quill grumbled, uncovering his face and placing them on the table. 

Pietro stopped laughing and smiled at Quill. "You look cute all the time." He reached over and lightly placed his hand over Quill's. 

"You need to stop saying things like that, I'm not- I'm not used to it!" 

Before Pietro could reply, Gamora returned to their table. 

"Ew, lovebirds. Get a room," she said, wrinkling her nose at their hands. Quill rolled his eyes, and she gave him a smile. 

"What can I get you guys?" she asked, and the two ordered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter to spite everyone who's here for thorquill-
> 
> IM KIDDING, IM KIDDING.   
> But other relationships need to happen before Thor and Quill get together, man. I see other fanfics where the main ships gets together within like the first five chapters (dont get me wrong, I still high key fangirl) but I wanna do this so that they go on their journey to love xD idek what I'm saying anymore but please dont be mad at me. 
> 
> I even jokingly told my friends I might change this to a PietroQuill fanfic xD but I won't bc I have many many plans for this :^)))


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a filler chapter but djnxnxndn a little Thor and Quill interactions plus an apology is just what this fanfic needed haha 
> 
> Also I fuckin forgot Stephen was a character in the mcu until last night lmfao

After having breakfast, the two lingered there for a little longer. Quill still had about an hour or so before he had to clock in, so they decided to go to the bookstore across the street. Well, technically Quill had to be convinced by Pietro, but after some insisting, Quill gave in. Quill bid Gamora goodbye and they had made their way across the street. 

"I don't really read books for fun," Quill said as he followed Pietro down an isle. "And is it just me or are these bookshelves super close to each other?" 

"You don't like to read?" Pietro asked, glancing at him before focusing back on the books. 

"It's not that I don't like to read. It's just all the books that are written these days are all the same and they don't really catch my interest." Quill shrugged. "Plus English has never been my favorite subject, nor have I ever been the best at it."

"You don't have to be the best at something to enjoy it." Pietro pulled out a book and read the back of it, and the two continued like this, slowly down the isle until Quill spoke again. 

"I gotta pee, I'm gonna go find the bathroom." 

"Don't get kidnapped," Pietro said, not looking up from the book he held. 

"I'll try to resist." 

Quill gave Pietro a pat on the shoulder and turned around, and wandered about until he found the bathroom at the far end. He cautiously opened the door and walked in, did his business, then went to wash it hands. He pumped soap onto his hands and was lathering it around when he heard someone else enter the bathroom. He looked up into the mirror and, wow, what a small world, it was Thor. 

He frowned and started to rinse the soap off, but not quick enough because Thor started talking to him. 

"Quill, hi! I, um, I wanted to apologize about the other night, but I didn't think we'd see each other until school on Monday. I guess now is a good time than any, so- hey, wh-where are you going?" 

Quill had finished washing his hands and started leaving the bathroom, drying them on his pants, but apparently Thor couldn't take the hint that he wasn't going to listen to him because he followed him out of the bathroom, still talking. 

"I'm sorry. I think we both said things we didn't mean-" 

"I meant what I said, man." Quill finally turned to him, his frown deepening. "We don't need your help. We're fine. And if we get kicked out of school, that's _our_ problem. You don't care-"

"You don't get to decide if I care or not." Thor's tone had gone sharp, and his voice had risen a little, startling Quill. "I _do_ care. I care because I still want to be friends."

"Why do you want to be friends with us so bad? Is it pity? Because we don't need it, especially from you." 

"Why do call them bad people?"

"Because that's what they are. That's what _you_ are."

"What makes you think I'm such a bad person?"

"What are you, some kind of fucking detective?" Quill's hands curled into fists and he turned away from Thor, walking away, and yet Thor kept following him. "You just _love_ confrontation, don't you?" he hissed under his breath. 

"I just want an answer. We've known each other for less than a day and you've already pinned me as the bad guy. I want to know why."

"You chose Tony over us." Quill stopped walking and faced Thor once more. "That's why."

"I didn't choose anyone. You said to not associate with you at school, I thought that's what you wanted." 

Quill _had_ said that, hadn't he? Quill sighed. 

"You're right. I did say that." He hesitated. "I did. And now I'm acting like such a prick, aren't I?" 

"A little bit."

He ran his hands down his face. "Why didn't you answer Wanda? We were waiting on you." Honestly, he felt a little hurt now that he thought about it. 

"I told you, I went to see a movie. And not because I thought that Steve and Sam were more important than you guys. But I don't like-" Thor shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't like to be lonely. I'm used to being with friends." Oh, man, did Quill feel like a jerk now. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out like I did. But maybe next time don't forget to reply." Thor gave a small smile. 

"I'll try not to," he said earnestly. 

"Anyway, I gotta go, I'm here with someone."

"Ah, me, too. I guess I'll see you around, then?"

"Sure." Quill gave a small nod and one of those awkward half smiles that you give people who you know, but not really, then went back to where he had last been with Pietro. He wasn't there, so Quill wandered around until he found him two isles down.

"You took a while," Pietro immediately said, placing a book down. He turned to Quill and gently took his face in his hands, making him look him in the eyes. "Are you okay? You look a little stressed."

"I'm always stressed," Quill snorted. "I'm okay, I just ran into Thor." This made Pietro frown almost disapprovingly. "He apologized for not replying to Wanda. It's okay, though. Everything is fine." He leaned forward and gave Pietro a quick peck on the lips. "Choose a book already, you nerd, the smell of books is killing me." 

\---

"How long have you guys been together again?" Gamora questioned. 

"A whole morning," Scott shouted from the other end of the kitchen. 

"Wait, Quill is dating someone?" Stephen, someone who Quill didn't usually get hours with but they got along relatively well, asked. He was a sophomore in university, studying in the medical field. He and Gamora knew each other because they had attended the same pretentious high school when Gamora was a sophomore and he was a senior. "When did this happen?"

"This morning. Are you not listening to me?" Scott shouted again. 

"I swear to God, I am going to fight all of you," Quill groaned, making everyone laugh at him, chefs included. 

"They had sex, too-"

" _Oh my God, **Scott**!_" Quill practically screeched. 

"Hey, you're the one who decided to call me and tell me details!" 

"You called Scott and told him about it?!" Hope finally spoke up. 

"No! No no no! I didn't-"

"Yes, you did, you liar liar pants on fire!" Scott pointed a wooden spoon at Quill. 

"Do we seriously have to have this conversation right now?! While so many of us are _working?!_ "

"Yes! You're the baby of work!" Gamora was grinning with amusement. 

"We're the same age, Gamora, c'mon!"

"I'm a few months older. You're the baby." 

"Yeah, we need to make sure you're okay." Quill gave Stephen a death glare, but even if looks could kill, Quill was pretty sure Stephen's smirk could protect him from his glare. Stephen didn't usually join in on teasing, but when he did, it was subtle yet effective. 

"Did it hurt?" Hope asked, and Quill couldn't tell if she was joking or not. 

"I'm not- I'm done talking about this. You guys have embarrassed me enough for one day, and it's not even afternoon yet." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna go actually do my job unlike you losers." 

"Wow, he's applying himself to something useful for once." He gave Gamora a pouty glare as he passed her, then made his way out the kitchen doors, Stephen following after him. 

"You know we're joking, right?" Even after being a part of the teasing, Stephen still cared, and was, of course, in all Stephen Strange fashion, making sure Quill was genuinely okay. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Quill sighed, stopping, and looking up at Stephen. "But, damn, I hate embarrassment. Especially in front of all of you."

"I don't really think anyone likes embarrassment, but we're your friends. We do it all in good humor. I think we were all just surprised to hear you actually found someone you wanna date." 

"I guess- wait, what's that supposed to mean?!" Stephen didn't get to reply right away, for customers entered the restaurant, and he swept away to go tend to them, taking a few menus with him. 

Quill watched as he put on that smile of his that was contagious to the customers. He was as smooth as ever, and when he was done, he came back to Quill. 

"I mean, you've always been that kind of guy who didn't seem like you'd ever find someone you like. At least not in that way. You're a little bitter, you know? I think it's just part of your personality." 

"Are you trying to be mean?" 

"I don't mean it to be rude," Stephen laughed. "It's just that that's the Quill we're used to. We're not used to you being with someone, is all." Quill nodded, though still felt a bit lost. That didn't really make sense to him, but he knew he asked any further, Stephen would start going into the science of things, and Quill wasn't in the mood for a lecture on a Saturday. 

Instead, he said, "Okay. But if Scott starts talking about my sex life again, I'm quitting on the spot," making Stephen laugh. 

"Alright, alright, I'll tell him to knock it off. Now go see if anyone needs anything." He gave Quill a pat on the shoulder as he whisked past him and back into the kitchen. 

\---

A little more than halfway into his shift, Quill got a visitor, Pietro to be specific, and he came, as he had stated before, with Quill's lunch. 

"Hey!" Quill greeted him brightly, and Pietro greeted him back with a wave. 

"I told Wanda about us, she said she was fine with it, but she wanted to talk to us both after you're off of work," Pietro explained as he handed Quill a plastic bag that had the name of a Chinese food store labeled onto it. "You like Chinese food, right?"

"Love it, thanks." Quill accepted the bag from him, his mouth watering at the smell. 

"Ooo, I hope you plan to share that!" Scott had seemed to have popped out of nowhere and draped his arm over Quill's shoulders, grinning. "Smells good!" He nodded to Pietro, bright demeanor never faltering. "Hi again." 

"Hi, Scott." Pietro returned the nod, then turned his attention back to Quill. "I have to go, I promised Wanda I'd stop by to help her out with the animals. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, of course," Quill reassured with a nod. "Thanks for the food." Pietro leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then waved and left the restaurant, leaving Quill a little red. 

"How sweet. He smelled nice," Scott commented, reaching into the bag and pulled out an egg roll. He pulled it out of its paper packaging and took a bite, chewing loudly in Quill's ear. 

"Ew, gross." Quill made a face a him and pushed Scott away, and Scott only laughed, covering his mouth with the back of his free hand to thankfully block the chewed up egg roll from Quill's view. 

"C'mon, enough swooning," Scott said, turning Quill around with him. "Let's go share this in the back room before anyone else sees it. And remind me to get myself a girlfriend who brings me lunch, too. Or a boyfriend. Or just a friend. That'd be great. Or maybe I can teach Cassie to drive."

"Scott, she's a baby." 

"It was a joke." Quill raised a brow at him. 

"Sorry, sometimes I can't tell if you're serious about your stupid ideas."

No one may have seen it, but they sure smelled it, and the employees ended up splitting Quill's lunch.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love updating at ungodly hours lmfao
> 
> This disclaimer is a little spoilery for the chapter but like it doesn't matter dndnndn   
> but I wanted to put it before anyone who enjoyed the movie comes for my head dndnnxnx 
> 
> DISCLAIMER:   
> The opinions on The Lion King ARE NOT MY PERSONAL OPINIONS. They are simply the opinions of my friend and people on Twitter! I haven't seen the remake myself, so I TECHNICALLY DON'T HAVE A VALID OPINION ON IT JUST YET. 
> 
> (If anything, I'd be like Quill and be pretty nonchalant about it sndnnxnx)

"Well, I'm out, suckers, see ya lateeer!" Quill shouted as he reentered the kitchen from the backroom, his jacket in hand, apron already off. 

Everyone chorused their own versions of their goodbyes, and Quill gave one last "Miss America" wave, and left the kitchen, throwing his jacket over his shoulder and exited the restaurant. Almost immediately he spotted Pietro's car, and a smile spread on his face, and it grew to a grin when he saw Wanda in the car with Pietro. 

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite twins!" he said as he opened the door to the back. 

"I'm pretty sure we're the _only_ twins you know," Wanda replied, looking back to him from the passenger seat. She looked content, so Quill had a feeling she wasn't upset over him and Pietro. 

"Thanks for picking me up, by the way," Quill continued, buckling himself in. Pietro started the car back up and started pulling out of the parking spot. 

"It's no trouble." Pietro flashed him a smile through the rearview mirror. 

"I was thinking we could go pick Peter and Ned up, and we can go see that new Lion King remake that they've been curious about," Wanda said. 

"I heard it's really bad," Quill commented. "But, hey, why not? Maybe people are just exaggerating and it's not so bad."

Wanda and Pietro gave him the same look of quiet judgement, and Quill only grinned. 

"Okay, okay, I get it." He held up his hands in defense. "But there's only one way to fully be able to judge the movie: by watching it ourselves. Oh, yeah, where are Peter and Ned anyway?" 

"Ned said they're at a friend's dorm room right now," Wanda replied, showing Quill her phone. The screen showed the text messages between her and Ned. 

"Dorm room?" Quill echoed. 

"From their old middle school," Wanda explained. "Visions Middle School, or something like that."

"It's Brooklyn Visions Academy," Pietro corrected, and Wanda nodded. 

"Right. Either way, it's some fancy middle school that's top tier. A lot of super smart and rich kids go there." 

"Huh. And Ned and Peter both attended it?" Quill asked. The two freshmen never really talked about their middle school, so Quill didn't know much about it. "How do you know?"

"It's surprising how much you can find out on social media. I brought it up to Ned and he ended up telling me." Wanda cast him a small devious smile. "And yeah, they both went to this school. They're with their friend Miles right now."

"Then what are they doing going to our school? Shouldn't they be off in some top tier high school, too?" It wasn't really a sour question, more of a question out of amazement. If Peter and Ned were so smart, why would they go to a mediocre high school? Then again, the school did have other super smarties like Banner and Stark, and now that Quill thought about it, there were a lot of super smart people who went to the same school as him, an average intelligent guy. 

"I wondered the same thing, but I've never asked," Wanda admitted. "I felt rude pressing on about it." She gave a sheepish look, and Quill nodded understanding. Despite Wanda being a rather bold girl, when it came to friends, she was like Quill; she'd probably die for them, but she hated bothering them as well, or making them uncomfortable in any way unless they all were aware it was a joke of some sort. 

The car finally stopped in front of the entrance of a huge building. The sign in front read "Brooklyn Visions Academy," just as Pietro had said it was called, and Quill gawked at it. Not only was the building huge, but there was a bridge that connected it to _another_ building. 

"I wouldn't have been mad to attend a school like this!" he commented. "So do we just wait?"

"Yeah. We're not allowed to enter, the school is super strict on visitors. I'll text Ned to let them know we're here." 

The three fell into a comfortable silence, the sound of a soccer game being narrated on the radio a quiet sound. It wasn't until a little later when Wanda broke the silence, saying, "Here they are." Quill peeked out the window and saw Peter, Ned, and two other boys whom he didn't recognize turning the corner from the side of the building. When Peter saw the car, he nudged Ned and the two waved to them, then made their way over to them, their two friends following after 

"Hey, sorry, did we take too long?" Ned asked as they approached Wanda's side of the car, and she rolled down her window. "Hi, Quill."

"Hey," Quill greeted him back. 

"No, you guys are good," Wanda reassured. 

Peter opened the back car door on the side Quill wasn't sitting on, then scooched himself to the middle, Ned following after him, then closed the door once they were settled and seated, and rolled down the window so he and Peter could speak to their friends once more before they left. 

"We'll think about what you said, Peter," one of them said, "but I think it's seriously a chance you shouldn't take. It seems like you got a great little family already." He glanced around the car as he spoke, and when he accidentally made eye contact with Quill (who was honestly being kind nosy and didn't even bother to pretend he wasn't listening), he quickly looked away. 

"I know, Miles, I just..." Peter trailed off. 

"I think you should go for it," the other kid spoke up, crossing his arms. "Either way, there's a chance you won't even make it in, but that's not really likely, knowing you." 

"We'll all give it some more thought," Ned declared. "But right now we're gonna go see The Lion King."

"Eugh, _really_?" the first kid, Miles, asked. "They messed up so much about it, man, it's so not worth it-" He was cut off as his phone rang. "Ah, it's my dad. I should get going. Ses you guys next week." He gave a small wave, and the second kid did as well and then the two hurried away, Miles answering his phone as they left. 

"Well, they seemed nice," Quill spoke up. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Quill!" Wanda said in a scolding tone. 

"What? It sounded important!" 

"Oh, it's just a, um, a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament thing," Peter said. "I'm still a little new to the competitive stuff, so I wasn't really sure if I should join it."

"Then what was all that about a family?" Pietro asked, raising a brow. He had already started driving away from the school as they spoke. 

"He meant my Yu-Gi-Oh group on discord. None of us are really that into the competitive stuff, so Miles thinks I shouldn't abandon them and become one of those super duper competitive players because I might grow attached or get, like, a big head about it. But I don't think that's gonna happen." 

"But Ganke thinks he's a super good player and should go for it," Ned piped up. "He thinks Peter is just wasting his time if he doesn't try 'cause then it means he practiced and studied different strategies for nothing, which I totally agree with." 

"But _I_ don't really think I should try because I don't want to be an awful friend and let anyone down or lose anyone's trust." Peter's voice was wavering now, and Wanda had turned around in her seat to look at Peter and Ned, worry written all over her face. "But a huge part of me really _does_ want to try because there are some super good players who I admire who play competitive, and this could be my only chance to get to know them, and- and-"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, man, it's just a card game," Quill broke in. "Don't get so worked up about it. Whether you decide to join this competition or whatever, it's not gonna determine whether or not you're a good friend. And if those people in your group get butthurt about it, they're the ones who aren't the good friends." 

"And if you think you can make it, I think you should definitely try! It won't hurt to," Wanda agreed. She reached back and gave Peter a pat on the knee. "But I wouldn't worry too much about it." 

"I'd worry more for Disney's reputation," Pietro snorted. "Have you seen the rotten tomatoes review on it?" 

\---

"Man, I expected so much more!" Peter immediately complained as soon as they exited the theater and were on their way back to Pietro's car. 

"Did you _see_ how awfully CGI animated Mufasa died?!" Ned asked incredulously. "He looked like a ragdoll being tossed down! I bet some dude in his basement could do it better!" 

"And Scar looked _nothing_ like the OG Scar!" Peter looked indignant as if the whole movie in itself was an atrocity. 

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Quill said, and he got a judgy look from not only Ned and Peter, but from Wanda and Pietro as well. 

"Have you ever seen the original movie?" Ned asked. "Because that mess they showed in there?" He pointed back to the theater. "That thing doesn't even come close to it. They even got the freaking _time_ wrong for 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight?'! It's unforgivable!"

"And Scar was out there yelling about killing Mufasa when he was supposed to keep quiet about it," Wanda sniffed, shaking her head. 

"And they made him pretty strong, too," Pietro put in. "Last time I remembered, he was much weaker than Mufasa and used manipulation rather than actual brute force." They made it back to the car and started loading in, everyone but Quill still complaining. 

"I seriously feel like I'm not contributing anything to this, but it wasn't so bad!" Quill said. He and Wanda had agreed to switch spots, so he got into the passenger seat, and she got into the back. 

As soon as the words left his mouth, however, everyone's voices raised as they started to shout more things that they found wrong with the movie, but it only made Quill laugh at how worked up they all got. 

"Okay, maybe they _were_ a little expressionless," he agreed, that being the only thing he could decipher over everyone talking over one another. "But I'm no expert in movie making. Besides, the commercials were already very much advertised. You guys just went in with too many expectations, you sorta see yourselves up for the disappointment if you really think about it."

"Our expectations were for it to be almost as good as the original, if not better," Pietro chided as he started the car up. "It sounded like a voice over on a very badly made movie."

"Yeah!" Peter grumped, crossing his arms. "It straight up ignored the great aspects of the original, and, _oh, my God_ , do _not_ get me started on the Hakuna Matata scene! It was _so_ boring! They could've done it so much more justice, but noooo! And it's one of my favorite songs from the movie, too!"

"Don't you guys think you're comparing too much-"

"Well, that's what we're supposed to do! It's called a remake because it's supposed to be better than the original, or at least, you know, _good in general!_ The best part was probably how awfully it was made 'cause we could get a kick out of if. Otherwise, I probably would've walked right outta the theater!" Ned used wide hand gestures as he spoke, and the other two only nodded solemnly along with what he said, leaving Quill being the only one to looked amused by their passionate speeches and outbursts. 

"Maybe next time we should go see Annabelle or some other horror movie so you guys will be too traumatized to complain about it."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little bit more about Scott. :^)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just me giving Scott a big ol bear hug bc I love this guy x"D
> 
> Oh also lmao I did some little doodles of scenes from the other chapters so if that's something you guys would wanna see for some reason, let me know ndnndmdm
> 
> As per usual, ignore any typos, I don't have anyone to beta read for me, and I don't have enough energy in me to reread right after for mistake xnxnnxnx  
> Tho tbh I think theres definitely less typos than there used to be-

**Scott's POV**

Scott watched Quill leave the restaurant, then turned back to focus on work. Hope worked beside him; since she was a way better cook than the others, she occasionally helped the chefs with things, but mostly the smaller things, like chopping things and such, as she was doing at the moment. 

"Hey, Hope, how's your dad-"

"He still hates you, Scott."

"Ah." Well, that conversation died. Or more so it never lived to begin with.

Scott and Hope had dated their junior and senior year of high school, and her father had always been pretty iffy about him, so when they'd broken up (or as Hope put it "Scott had broken her heart and it had taken her forever to rebuild it again"), her dad seemed eager to hate Scott fully. Hope had long forgiven Scott, even she had admitted she _may_ have exaggerated the break up a little bit - and absolutely hated to be reminded - but her dad never did, still hasn't. Despite the forgiveness, though, that didn't make the two the best of friends, either. Scott had never told Hope why he had broken up with her, and that seemed to annoy her, so their conversations never lasted more than the one they had just had, unless there were others as a part of the conversation. 

As though sensing the growing tension, Gamora and Stephen shoved their way in between the two until they were well separated, and Stephen dragged Hope off into their own discussion, and Gamora spoke to Scott. 

"Have you guys seriously not gotten over a high school fallout?" Gamora questioned, raising a brow at Scott. "Why did you break up anyway?"

"I've told you before, I was having personal issues," Scott sighed, shaking his head and looking over at Hope briefly before turning back to Gamora. "She used to be really closed minded, and she wouldn't have understood."

"Was it a kink problem?"

Wha- no! No, definitely not." Scott gave Gamora's inquisitive "I don't believe you" look a squinty eyed look in return. 

"Fine. Don't tell me," she huffed after a quick stare down between the two. "But someday, I will get it out of you, Lang." She pointed her finger at his chest, then said, "Okay, c'mon, we have to stop 'lazing around' or we're gonna get fired."

\---

It was about 8 when Scott and Gamora had finished their shifts, and were leaving together, saying goodnight to those still working, and greeting those coming in for the night shift. 

"Ugh, I should've said no to working overtime," Gamora groaned. "I can't stand people sometimes. Did you see that guy trying to hit on me?!" 

"Yeah, but one glare from you and he wanted a completely different waiter," Scott laughed, then went serious. "But you can't keep doing that, Gamora, soon you're gonna get enough complaints from customers that they're gonna have to fire you," he warned. 

"It's not _my_ fault it's a bunch of creeps who decide it's a good idea to talk to me like that."

"I'll admit that I do kind of want people to be afraid of Cassie like that when she's older." Scott gave a small shrug as they arrived to his car. "I'd like to know she can protect herself if I'm ever not around. Speaking of which, I should definitely hurry back home. Maggie and I both had to work tonight, so I got two babysitters to watch Cassie." 

"Ha, well, I'll see ya later, Scotty." Gamora gave his shoulder a light pat and waved as she walked away to her own car. 

\---

Scott arrived back at his apartment, and upon unlocking the door, he was met by giggling. 

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked as he entered. He found the two babysitters he'd hired sitting cross-legged on the floor with Cassie crawling between them, all three the source of the giggling as Cassie showed them her stuffed ant plush. 

These two girls were middle schoolers, Adra and Gracie, but not only did they not ask a lot of money, but Cassie absolutely loved them. 

"Hi!" Adra greeted brightly, and Gracie gave a small wave. She stood up and picked up Cassie, Gracie standing up after her. Scott walked over and Cassie was handed to him, and she gleefully hugged him, making happy little baby noises that never failed to make Scott's heart melt. 

"Thanks again for watching her so late," he thanked the girls. He held Cassie carefully with one arm as he reached into his pocket for his wallet. 

"It's not a problem," Adra replied, smiling. "We love Cassie, she's super adorable."

"Mhm! And she's really calm, too, which is really nice," Gracie agreed. 

Scott handed them each their pay, and he held back a snort of amusement; they always looked so stunned by the money every time. They accepted it, thanking him. 

"Have a good night, girls," he said as he escorted them to the door. He grabbed Cassie's wrist and waved her hand at them. 

"You, too, Mr. Lang! Bye, Cassie!" the two chorused and waved back, leaving the apartment. Scott closed and locked the door behind them, then turned to Cassie. 

"You're sleepy, huh?" he asked her in that baby toned voice that almost everyone seemed to conjure up when talking to either babies or dogs. As soon as Cassie was in his arms, she had leaned her head on his shoulder, her eyes closing. He gave her a kiss on her head, and went to go change her diaper and into her pajamas, then put her into her crib. 

He sat beside the crib for a while until he was sure she was sound asleep and okay, then stood up, and quietly went to his own room to change out of his work clothes. Once he was in his comfortable pajamas, he headed into the kitchen to find himself a little night snack. 

"Ugh, I feel old," he muttered to himself. It was only 8:34, and he was ready to hit the hay, too. He could remember a time when he would go out and party, drink, stay out late. Actually, that was, like, a year ago. But after he'd lost contact with his friends from high school, had Cassie, gone to college, moved out and away from his parents, gotten job after job until he finally got a stable one at the restaurant that actually payed pretty decently- well, let's just say he hasn't really had the time to be as carefree as he once was. He was not only an adult now, but he was a dad, too, and he wanted to be a dad that Cassie would be proud of. 

He was contemplating this all, though he didn't regret any of it. He adored Cassie and wouldn't ever go back to change anything he'd done if he were given the chance, not for the world. Plus, he'd made some great friends, so that was great, too. 

His thoughts were cut off when his phone rang. It was Quill. Of course it was because who else would ever call him. 

"What's up?" he asked into the phone as he grabbed a small packet of gummy bears from its large box that he claimed he bought for Cassie and opened it. 

"Hey, did you- guys, shh, I'm tryna ask him!- did you like the Lion King movie? The remake?" Behind Quill's voice, Scott heard other people, though he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. 

"Uhh, I dunno, I haven't seen it," he replied, popping a red gummy bear into his mouth. "I heard it's bad, though."

"See, even the old guy hasn't bothered to see it!" someone shouted triumphantly. 

"Hey! I'm not old!" Scott said, offended as he put another gummy bear into his mouth. 

"Oh, shit, he heard me," the same voice yelped, followed by laughter of others. 

"Quill, where the hell are you and who are you with?" Scott asked. "You better not be drinking, you know you're not of legal age-"

"No one is drinking, Scott, chill," Quill reassured. "Besides, you drank at this age."

"Which is exactly why I'm telling you not to." Scott frowned, a disapproving look on his face although he very much knew that Quill couldn't see it. 

"I'm fine, we're all fine, it's fine," Quill replied. 

"Quill, don't take what I told you too far."

"Who is this guy, your uncle or something?" someone not so discreetly whispered. 

"No, he's a friend from work- Scott, seriously, don't worry. We're just arguing over whether or not the Lion King remake was good or not."

"He's in good hands, there's no need to it worry!" Scott recognized Wanda's voice and he relaxed a little; she seemed way more responsible than Quill and his two unnamed friends put together. In fact, the three probably shared one single brain cell given to them by Wanda. 

"Okay, alright, this old man will leave you guys alone," Scott said. 

"Bye, Scott-"

"Byeeee!"

"Bye-bye!" 

A wave of goodbyes was sent Scott's way, then there was muffled laughter, and then Quill hung up. 

Ah, to be young again. 

Instead of yearning for his high school days, however, Scott realized he more wished he had spent those days like Quill was. 

He knew that was why he felt like he had to watch out for Quill. Scott didn't want him to end up like him, he didn't want people to tell Quill he was a failure, that he wouldn't amount anything. Quill could be and was definitely better than anything Scott could ever be. 

Quill was always hanging out with people who seemed to be the right crowd, the right kind of people, not the kind of people who peer pressured you into doing awful things. Quill never did anything to purposely hurt anyone, he always had his reasons, unlike the way younger high school Scott had acted. 

Maybe that's another reason why he and Hope hadn't worked out. She was orderly and he... _wasn't._ She had known what she wanted probably since she had come out of her mother's womb, and Scott honestly still had no idea where he was going in life; he was kind of just going for it and hoping for the best, hoping he was making the right decisions, but knowing deep down he likely wasn't. 

Not only all of that and he had been afraid she would reject him and out him if he told her he was bisexual. 

Man, had _that_ been the discovery of a lifetime. He had been absolutely amazed and yet terrified when he realized, hey! Girls are hot! But guys? They were hot, too. 

Scott finally shook his head. He didn't want to keep thinking about all of this, otherwise he was sure he'd end up curling up in a fetal position on the floor of his kitchen recalling all the dumb things he'd done in the past. So instead, he dragged himself out of his head and to the living room, where he turned on the TV and started to aimlessly channel surf, ending up on the Discovery Channel, and watched a documentary on archeologists finding the bones of some huge, unidentified dinosaur. He watched it until the very end, and as the credits rolled by, he turned off the TV and tiredly went to his room, checking in on Cassie on his way. 

He flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling for a while before whispering out loud to no one in particular, "My life has been put on one huge continuous loop."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe, Adra and Gracie are me and my friend's marvelsonas xD she jokingly said they babysit Cassie and I absolutely loved the idea dnnxnxnx


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually had this chapter almost ready but I never got around to finishing it bc I was shiny hunting a furfrou. I broke the chain tho by accident so now you guys get a chapter ndndndn

**Quill's POV**

Pietro had dropped off Quill off in front of his apartment building with promises of returning in a bit, a wink thrown in, and "Oooooo!"s from Wanda and Peter and an "Ew, gross!" from Ned were heard, making Pietro roll his eyes and Quill blush. After Wanda said she'd talk to him and Pietro at a better time, and waving them off, Quill had gone up into the apartment, and found a note from Yondu. 

"Got called for an emergency meeting at work, might be out for longer than I expected" it read. 

Quill frowned. 

Lately Yondu had been having trouble at work, troubles that he didn't share with Quill, even when Quill insisted on knowing. He was always brushed off and dismissed, but it seemed serious. However, when he saw the small smiley face drawn beside the words, he couldn't help but smile down at the note in his hands; everything was probably fine, and he was worrying for nothing. 

He took in a deep breath, a small smile still on his face as he placed the note back on the table, then went to his room and changed into pajama pants and a looser fitting shirt. 

He walked back to the living room and was about to settle down on the couch to see what was on TV when the phone started to ring. Curiously, he walked over to it and picked it up, squinting to see the caller ID, but didn't recognize it, so he didn't answer the call. He put the phone back down and went to the couch, but as soon as he sat down, it rang again. Groaning in frustration, he got back up and went to the phone, picking it up, and saw it was another unknown phone number. Placing the phone back down and grumbling under his breath, he went back to the couch once more and turning on the TV. 

When the phone rang a third time, he ignored it and continued going through the channels, humming happily when he saw Friends was on. He was about halfway into the episode when there was a knock at the door. He was about to go open it when he froze, a thought occurring to him. 

He had just received three calls, one after the other, from an unknown number. Now there was a knock at the door. 

"Oh, God, am I about to be murdered?" he whispered, eyes wide. He quietly snuck around the apartment, looking for something to defend himself with, and found a baseball bat in the junk closet that he had owned for years but never used because he had never really gotten into baseball. 

With it tightly in his grip, prepared the swing, he opened the door a tiny crack, then sighed and relaxed when he saw it was Pietro. He opened the door fully. 

"Holy shit, bro, I thought you were a murderer!" When Pietro gave him a quizzical look, Quill said, "I got three calls from someone I don't know and then you knocked, and it freaked me out."

"You know your door has a peephole, right?" Pietro asked, his tone amused as he pointed to the door. Quill followed where he was pointing. 

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." 

Pietro let out a small laugh, and Quill moved aside to let him in. Once inside, Quill shut the door and led Pietro into the living room, and set the baseball standing beside the couch. 

"So what's up? Are Wanda, Ned, and Peter home safely?" he asked, turning back to Pietro. 

"Yep, I'm done playing schoufer for the night," Pietro replied, "and I promised I'd be back." He took a step towards Quill, smirking, making Quill blush, and he leaned down to press his lips against Quill's. Quill happily leaned into the kiss, but broke off when he heard the TV. 

"Wait, hang on, sorry, I like this part," he said, his expression dead serious as he turned back to the television. Pietro let out another soft laugh. 

"My bad, I didn't know I walked in on you watching TV," he said, and Quill gave him a kind of apologetic shrug. "I don't mind watching instead."

"Ah, you had other plans?" Quill wiggled his brows playfully at Pietro, and it was Pietro's turn to blush. Quill grinned and sat back down on the couch, pulling Pietro by the arm so he was sitting beside him. The two fell into a comfortable silence, letting the show be the only sound surrounding them, and Quill even stood up for a moment to drag out a blanket from his his room so they could properly cuddle. 

The shows had changes from Friends to Two Men And A Half, and at this point, Pietro was nodding off, meanwhile Quill was still quietly launching at the jokes, pretty much wide awake. 

"How do you have so much energy in you...?" Pietro asked sleepily. He was slumped down so much and his head was nestled on Quill's shoulder, so his breath ticked Quill's neck. 

"Yondu asks the same," Quill replied. "I guess night time is when I feel the most awake." He paused, then added, "I can turn the TV off if it's bothering you."

"No, no, it's okay," Pietro murmured, moving ever so slightly to place a kiss against Quill's neck. "I don't mind it at all." He sat up a little bit more to place a kiss a little higher up, and kept doing so until he was leaving a trail of kisses leading up Quill's jaw, and Quill only hummed in pleasure, until Pietro had straddled himself onto Quill's lap. 

Oh, boy. 

Here they went again. 

\--- 

Despite being a late sleeper, Quill was an early riser by default, thanks to years of Yondu waking him up early. 

He and Pietro had fallen asleep on the couch after last night, and luckily they had been sane enough to get dressed again afterwards this time, but he did feel sticky. 

Ew, why did he and Pietro have to constantly be a mess of hormones and horniness all the time? Not that he minded it all the time. It was more the aftermath of being a mess. 

Quill pushed the blanket off of himself, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Beside him, Pietro stirred and straightened himself up on couch as well. 

"G'morning," Quill mumbled, offering Pietro a smile, which Pietro returned. 

"Your hair is a mess," he immediately noted. 

"Can't say yours is in the best shape either." Quill stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "I should go see if Yondu is awake yet, I'll be right back." Pietro grunted in response, and Quill went to Yondu's room, but upon entering, he found it empty, and still in the same shape as it had been the night before. It was untouched. He frowned, his stomach sinking. 

Had Yondu not gotten home last night? What happened? 

He went back to the living room, and Pietro must've seen the look on his face, for he immediately stood up and asked Quill what was wrong. When Quill explained the situation, Pietro was quick to reassure him. 

"You said it was an emergency meeting, right?" Quill nodded. "See, I'm sure he just stayed longer than he had intended to help them resolve it. I'm sure he'll be back today." He gave Quill's arm a soothing rub, then added, "Why don't you go shower? You'll feel better." 

"You're probably right," Quill murmured, nodding again. He gave his boyfriend an appreciative smile, and went to go do as suggested. 

After his shower, Quill came back out feeling more awake and refreshed, and he was greeted with kiss on the cheek from Pietro, to which he happily accepted. 

"Are you feeling better?" Pietro asked. 

"Yeah, I am, thanks." Quill pointed back towards the bathroom. "You can take a shower, too, if you want. I'm sure I have some oversized pajamas you can borrow or something."

"That'd be great, thank you." Quill got another kiss on the cheek, and then he led Pietro to his room where together they found a pair of sweatpants that Pietro was sure would fit him and a white shirt that had a band name on it, some group named CNCO.

"I dunno, my friend Gamora got it for me as a joke on my birthday, like, two years ago, and she got annoyed that I had no idea who they were. I kinda ruined her plans I guess." Quill let out a small laugh. "Apparently they're some Hispanic boyband, kinda like One Direction, I think she said. Granted I wouldn't know 'cause I can't speak Spanish for shit, but, you know, it makes a great shirt to sleep in." Pietro nodded in agreement, and Quill went to get him a towel, then Pietro headed off to shower. 

Meanwhile, Quill went to go make himself a scrambled egg with ham and onion in it. He would have never thought to put the three together in one whole breakfast meal, but that one time Gamora had dropped by the apartment early in the morning to drop off his jacket that he had let her borrow, and she had made it, and it was absolutely delicious, so she taught him how to make it. It had actually been really easy, much to his surprise, so he found himself occassionally making it for himself, and sometimes Yondu, too, who had admitted it was good. 

He was serving the breakfast onto plates when Pietro came out of the shower, dressed in the pajamas, drying his hair with the towel. 

"Mmm, I didn't know you cooked," he commented lightly as he flitted into the living room dining area, sitting down at the table as Quill placed a plate down and gestured for him to sit down. 

"I don't. I know how to make, like, three things," Quill scoffed, handing Pietro a fork. He set his own plate down and the two sat to eat breakfast, Quill turning the TV on. 

"Do you think Thor's made any effort in getting the video yet?" Pietro asked. Quill turned his attention him, startled by the sudden question. He put another forkful into his mouth, and tapped the end of the fork's handle against his chin thoughtfully. 

"I think," he said slowly, "that he's trying to be friends with everyone first. That way he can infiltrate them from the inside, and get the video easier." 

"How long do you think _that's_ going to take?" Pietro raised a brow. "I don't think he can do that all in one week." He had a sort of wince on his face, as though imagining actually getting kicked out of school, and Quill was quick to try and set his mind at rest. 

"I mean, you've met the guy yourself, you've seen him," he said. "Tony's group immediately liked him; I don't doubt that the rest of the school will either." He shrugged, shoving the rest of his breakfast info his mouth, and spoke around it as he chewed. "If anything, I really don't think we have to worry."

Pietro still looked a bit skeptical, but he hummed in agreement, and the two turned their attention back to the TV, but didn't get to focus on it that much when Pietro's phone rang. Quill glanced at him, a bit expectantly as Pietro took his phone out of his pocket and looked down at the screen. He picked up, and the person on the other end spoke much too quietly (or maybe Pietro's volume was too low) for Quill to hear, so he couldn't be nosy and eavesdrop. After a minute or so on the phone, with Pietro mostly saying "Okay", "Yes," and "Right," Pietro finally hung up. 

"It was an old friend," he immediately explained upon seeing Quill's curious look. He let out a heavy sigh, and Quill opened his mouth to ask if everything was alright, but it was as though Pietro could just read his face, because he said, "Everything is okay, but I have to go now. I can't say he was particularly happy."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Pietro looked rather stressed, which Quill knew would only stress him out later. 

"Yeah, I just have to go clarify something with him. He's not exactly what you'd call the wisest man. He tends to take things too literally, which usually leads to problems." Quill raised a brow, but Pietro gave him a calming look as he stood up and headed to the door, Quill following after him to see him off. 

"Be careful, alright?"

"I always am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys think I'm not planning this ahead, oh, you'd be surprised, haha. I have a whoooole list of things that are gonna happen, and it's quite a doozy, so you guys had best be prepared. :^)) We're in this for the long haul now. This is the world's slowest slow burn xD


End file.
